French police accommodation

The building pictured left is one of the most viewed old building of Shanghai, although it does not seem to attract much attention. Located at the corner of Huai Hai Zhong lu (former avenue Joffre) and Baoqing lu (former route Pottier), its architecture really stands out but it is dominated by the opposing and much more visible art deco building on the other side of the street. Its architectural style is quite unique in Shanghai, I once read that the architect was from Marseille and that it is clearly similar to buildings in South East France.

This corner of the former French concession was once the location of the Foch police station, one of the five police stations of the French authorities. The actual police station is long gone (a sky scraper stands in its place), but I found the below old picture on the internet. Being next to the police station, this building had a very specific function, it was designed to accommodate the police officers working at the police station. As far as I know, the building inhabitants are still police officers to this day. The building is still in a good shape, despite the usual DIY modifications, in particular the closure of some of the balconies. I have noticed this particular building since I first came to Shanghai in 1998 and I thought it was unique in Shanghai until recently. It turns out that it is not.

Apart from the Foch police station, the French concession had 4 others, covering the whole area of the concession. The most well known is probably the police station Mallet, a large Art Deco building near the Bund, which is still a police building. The Pétain police station one was located at the bottom of Heng Shan lu (the former avenue Pétain), there is still a police station in this area, but in a slightly different location. The Joffre police station was located next to the fire station on Huai Hai lu (former Avenue Joffre, near Xin Tian Di). This particular building has been under renovation since a few years, and a French luxury brand should open its flagship store in it. (It is now the flagship store of Hermes in Shanghai).

The main police station was the Central Police station on Jiang Guo Dong Lu (former route Stanislas Chevalier). It was the headquarters of the French police, at least until the Mallet police station was opened, replacing the former Shanghai municipality building. The large building was also the seat of the mixed court, the special court with a French judge and a Chinese judge seating together. Although it was covered up by an ugly entrance and somehow horribly modernized a while ago, it appears that the original structure is still in place. Renovation work has started a few months ago. Next to this stand twin police accomodation buildings, very the one on Huai Hai Lu.

The Huai Hai lu accommodation version has the main decorated facade facing North and visible from the street, making it very distinctive. On the Jiang Guo Dong Lu one, the decorated facade is hidden as away from the street side and only visible if you get into the courtyard. There are in fact two buildings surrounding a garden.  Both buildings are identical, similar but not identical to the one of Huai Hai Lu. Colors, balconies and decoration details are matching. The same architect probably did them all, accommodating police officers, which I believe is still the case today.

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