NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 80, 28 December 1917, Page 4

NEW POLICE HEADQUARTERS

HANDSOME ADDITION TO THE CITY'S ARCHITECTURE A DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING

■';•:".';:"One* of'"the 'finest buildings tyer -,' '.'erected in the Dominion is nearing '• -completion. This is the new head'quar- ' "'ters of the police force, the magnificent stmcturo which, extends from 'Johnston Street to Waring Taylor . Street. Done in ied brick and a cream finish' much-resembling Oamaru; stone, ■- tho building presents an exterior at- '"' iractiveness that. is seen in few of even the most elaborate and most ex- : pensive" of the mddern buildings that are.now being*erected in a city which snoulclsbon, be'comenoted for the excel-lence"-of its'/edifices. The interior is still more pleasing, and some .of the ; .'long white corridors, heavily pillared, : ' : present a fine appearance. - It is apparent that'neither expense ; i- -nor skill have been spared in tho production of such a result. The Govern; ment saw to the provision of the many thousands of pounds which were need- : ed, and tho contractors to whose null 'the edifice' is 'such a valuable tribute inre Messrs. Trevor Brothers, of PnlNorth .and Wellington. . The ■'•> biiildiiig"will probably run the country 'iinto" something- over £40,000, but so ''far-as the workmanship goes• it looks. -Vto be an excellent return for .the "money. It is a-structure that, should ;; stand for all time, and , , it enough and up-to-date enough to, serve i the needs of; the Police Department for .many years' to come. At -the present i 'time -it is'in .somo respects.'bigger than ■ : i : -'ihe .'.'requires, •but',; tho. ■State can easily/find good-use for -tiny ■■'. spare room . In fapt, sonic of the space 1 not immediately required. has"' already ''teen-put to. use, !State Departments in ; need 'of more, room for their , work,! ] havihff been accommodated there. The •1 foundations of the buildinc were laid ,i by'the-Government, and the contract fcfor the'remainder of, the' work was let •V ; to the' Messrs. Trevor;in 1915. The '"•'contract'price: was ■ £37.000, a. sum '■■which'gives to even the lay mind 1 some ;r of tho •' size', of; the undertaking. War-time Delays. -. 'i'-^VFor;the work; to extend over. a,period :f-of about two years might 'suggest that : ';'tnei task was a long.one, but wlien all

■ ■; things are considered it will be realised vthat the State was'extremely fortunate '-' Jn getting' work of such magnitude '"completed in the time. War is a great interrupter of building operations, rnd 'it has caused the contractors for this ;work considerable \ anxiety. Delays, , : Commandeering, and so forth, have :-had'to be contended with, but the firm las won through. The building is alinost finished, and eaily in the New (Year the police will be established •under their new roof. The local, or city, police will be quartered on the Waring Taylor Street side of the block, the side nearest to <he 'Courts. From this side tho building ' presents a most handsome exterior, ■which suggests excellent workmanship from top to bottom. The deep red Lficks which play such .an important part in the fine appeaprance of the exterior wall were all made by the ■Messrs. Trevor in their own brickyards. Tha prisoners'-entrance to the station is from this side, and the watchhouse (the clearing-house for all pat-'rons-of the establishment) is the first : room encountered on entering. It is iriore spacious than the average watch- ' house, and it looks as if it will he not by' any means uncomfortable. Immediately behind the watch-house is the • office that will be occupied by.the ser--geant in charge.' it is a large Toom with considerable safe accommodation. The Cells. : • • There are about eighteen cells for 'women, including two padded cells. ""The cells are mnch better lighted than is usually the case, and they should be a good deal more sanitary than tho ordinary place of the kind. Though the windows of tho cells are fairly large, they are steel-barred, and tho ■chaiico of "escape through them a fine problem. The wire mattresses in the cells are fixed to the floor. They are ■•■ scarcely a foot off the ground, so that any customer who is inclined to roll ■' in his sleep will not have far to fall if ho pitches overboard. Altogether, with an easy conscience and a fine f is- . regard for the opinion of the public, one could put in quite a comfortable night in one of these little compartments. For the men there are about thirty cells, and two of these are padded. This accommodation should more than meet the requirements of the city for many years to come. Not far from the cells are offices for ' detectives, sergeants, and other mem- ■' bers of the staff. Offices are rarely ■■elaborate apartments, and these are " not, but they will be comfortable and convenient. A pleasing feature of the accommodation provided for the men is a room contaimns about forty good lookers in

which coats, boots, hats, otc, may be kept. Recreation for the Staff. , It has been tho policy of the Department to furnish their big stations with billiard rooms, but the _ billiard room attached to this station is something well ahead of the other rooms of tho kind that have been set apart for the uso of the members of the force. In floor measurement it is about 41 feet by 20 feet, and it is a fino lofty room. The lighting arrangements for play by day or by night could not be better. There are no less than eight big windows for admitting tho light of day, and for night play the light will be provided from eighteen electric bulbs. There will bo two tables in tho room, so that in this direction, as in others, the provision for tho men is something that tho Department can well be complimented upon. Another side of tho matter that "strikes one when looking through this fine room is the excellence of the workmanship that has been put into it. Witli its beautiful white plastered walls and its mimcrous. fine windows the room is certainly one of tho most attractive in a remarkably attractive building. ...The staff has also.been provided.with, a large writing and reading room, a thing that is sadly lacking in' , the old station just about to be quitted. The room is 22ft.- long■ by. 16ft. wideband fitted with Heaters.' ■'■ '

The- quarters provided for the matron and the assistant-matron should help to make the statiou life of these officers very comfortable. There are two bedrooms and a sittingroom, and all'have been far more comfortably fitted than is "generally the case with apartments of the kind built by the State; ' There is' a bathroom,' a kitchen, ■ and a, pantry for the solo use of the •matron and' her assistant;'< and the kitchen is fitted, -with an ./.up-to-date i mice in order that .these two members of. the staff may bo able to do their own cooking quie apart from the main kitchen. It is a self-contained portion of the' establishment, and the arrangement of it'appeared to be admirable. These quarters are, of course,

situated within easy call of the women's cells. A room , that alone would repay anyone the trouble of going along to hare a look over the building is the gymnasium. It is a magnificent room; some might say that it is almost too good for a gymnasium. It has fortyfour by thirty feet of floor space, and it is twenty-two feet high. There are two big skylights, and ventilation is arranged in the walls and in the roof. Liko the billiard Toom, it is lighted both by day and by night. Heaters are installed and ' bathrooms are provided right alongside. Though considerable money has been expended on this room, it will be easily realised that a first-class gymnasium is a, thing of great importance in a big police station. In this room also the excellent work that has been put into the whole of the structuro is seen to advantage. The main cookhouse is a businesslike, up-to-date apartment. _Tho cooker which has been installed is capable of cooking for two hundred and fifty men. Hot wafer service is provided, and' there is a small auxiliary boiler for serving the baths with hot water. The sinks, pantry arrangements, etc., are thoroughly up, to date, and should assist to make work as light as possible. Adjacent to the cookhouso is the men's din'ingroom,,a place which looks almostbig enough to accommodate a small army at dinner. It is forty feet long by sixteen feet ,wide, is nicely lighted and well heated, and is fitted with cupboards. The sleeping cubicles for the men are on the top floor of the building. The apartments are small, hut it is reckoned that on the cubicle system small spaces can be provided with no loss of air space. There are cubicles for twenty-five men, and handy to the cubicles are three bathrooms. On every floor of the building a "sanitaryblock" has been arranged, and the provision in this important direction is very satisfactory. In addition to the offices already mentioned, there are on the second door of ■ tho Waring Taylor Street block nilices for sergeants and clerks. The fingerprint room was to have been on the top floor of this block, but since the planning and commencement of the building it has been decided to house the expert in quarters that will be more convenient for him.

The whole work is a credit to all concerned. The contracting firm of Trevor Brothers consists of five members. Two of the firm are now at the front, another is to go into camp shortly, and a fourth has been unablo to pass the military test. The plans of the building were drawn by tho Government architect, and the work of erecting tho building was supervised by Mr. J. D. Louch, district engineer.