Lakshmi Building
Lakshmi Building is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is located at the intersection of Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road and Aiwan-e-Tijarat Road in Karachi's Mithadar district, the Lakshmi Building was at one time Karachi's tallest building until being surpassed in 1955 by Qamar House in the adjacent neighborhood of Kharadar. Built for the 'Lakshmi Insurance Company,' it was designed by the Karachi-based firm Maysers D H Daruwala & Co. in the Art Deco style, while the Hindustan Construction Company was the contractor. The red bricks for the façade were imported from Jaipur at the request of the insurance company's owner Lala Lajpat Rai of Lahore.
It was inaugurated on Christmas Eve, 1938 by the Indian poet and political activist Sarojini Naidu. Originally, a statue of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi was placed on top of the building, before removal in 1947 at the time of independence, when the owner migrated to India and sold the firm to a Parsi businessman.[1] The building was once known throughout Karachi for its state-of-the art clock-tower, and its iron elevator.