Karachi Downtown Walking Tour (Self Guided), Karachi

Port Trust Building was built in 1915 and later transformed into a large hospital during World War II. The building is developed in a neo-classical renaissance style. George Wittet was the the architect behind the ingenious building.

Merewether Clock Tower or Merewether Tower was raised by public subscription as a memorial for Sir William L. Merewether, who served as “Commissioner-in-Sindh” from 1867 to 1877. The Tower stands on a base of 44 feet square and rises to a height of 102 feet. It is designed in the Gothic Revival style popular in Victorian England, to evoke the architecture of Medieval England. The structure is built in buff colored Gizristone and shows a heightened sensitivity to detailing and emphasis on carving and decoration. The architecture takes the form of an Eleanor cross.

Eleanor crosses were a series of 12 monuments erected in England by King Edward I between 1291 and 1294, in memory of his wife, Eleanor of Castile. Three of the original Eleanor Crosses still exist in England. Many similar neo-Gothic style structures were built in Victorian England, and impressive clock towers are found all over Pakistan.

The Library of State Bank of Pakistan was opened in 1949 and is used today for the Supreme Court Registry Office's. The lower story's of the building provide a large library. The building is decorated with columns and is truly one of the most imposing banks in Karachi.

The New Memon Mosque is one of the most beautiful mosques in the city. The mosque features three domes and two towers on each side of the religious center. The location was once used as a graveyard, but has since became one of the most visited venues in the region.

Lakshmi Building used to be the biggest building in Karachi. The dominant tower is used by the Lakshmi Insurance Company, which also constructed and owns several of the other famous buildings in the area. Lakshmi Building also features a large clock.

Max Denso Hall and Library is located at the corner of Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road and Murad Khan Road. Karachi was once a small port in the Talpur dynasty and thus developed into a major town during the conquering of the region by The British East India Company. The British realized the importance of this city as a military center and thus rapidly developed it for harboring and shipping.

National Museum of Pakistan was established in Frere Hall on April 17, 1950, replacing the defunct Victoria Museum. Frere Hall itself was built in 1865 as a tribute to Sir Bartle Frere, a Commissioner of Sind during the 19th century. Once the Museum was inaugurated then the Government of Pakistan deemed it wise to constitute an Advisory Council in 1950 with a primary duty to counsel the Museum on the issues of enriching its collection through new acquisitions and purchase of antiquities and works of Arts.

The Museum was shifted to the present premises in 1970. The basic objective of establishing National Museum was to collect, preserve, study, and exhibit the records of the cultural history of Pakistan and to promote a learned insight into the personality of its people. The Museum has a collection of 58,000 old coins (some dating from 74 Al-Hijra), and hundreds of well preserved sculptures. Some 70,000 publications, books and other reading material of the Archeology and Museums Department were also shifted to the National Museum so that general public could see them. Every year National Museum holds around a dozen exhibitions on National Days and other occasions.

The National Academy of Performing Arts is situated on M. R. Kiyani Road, opposite the Arts Council. The academy was constructed in 1925 on a plot of land measuring 47,000 square yards. The cupolas and balustrades are directly influenced and derived from the Mughal-Hindu mixed style which characterizes Akbar's Fatehpur Sikri. It is perhaps the only example of its type left in Karachi.

Zainab Market is one of the cheapest markets in Karachi. Zainab offers clothes, leather, and rugs. The goods are all fabricated in Pakistan for famous brands like Adidas, Nike, and Polo. Shoppers are welcome to bargain and could successfully reduce the price to as low as 40 percent.