Wodehouse Road is a holy road. It houses the Cathedral of Holy Name(famous for it's stained glass paintings) along with the residence of the Archbishop of Bombay and also the CBI headquarters of the Mumbai region. Apart from it few colonial structures such as Clark House, Janjira Chambers residences of railway and defence personnel (with armed security guards vigilantly manning the gates) However, walk a little ahead and you will come across an old bunglow with a German name - Schoen House.
An unverified
blogpost states that it was built by a Parsi man and used to house a German Jew who was a dentist and later interned by the British, thereafter no one is aware of his whereabouts. A few newspaper reports also report of a school being run within the bunglow inspite of it's dilapidated state. It looked vacant when I visited. I was keen on locating a few animal carvings on the pillars and I was lucky to find Dogs etched on the four corners of all four pillars holding the balcony over the porch. Two gargoyles depicting crocodiles with pipes protruding from their mouths act as rainwater spouts. It must be quite a sight when it rains.
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| The Faithful Canine of Schoen |
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| The other faithful, one among many |
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| The Croc |
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| A stately mansion |
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| Could it be home to ghosts? |
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| In better light |
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| The German Jew - Schoen |
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| The canopy is home to several birds |
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| Silent spectator to the world |
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| Court Notices on the doors that they don't make anymore |
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| When a door is banged shut, window pane breaks |
The structure is stately but in ruins. Mother Nature has taken over and creepers compete for space with other debris. It makes for a fascinating subject for any one who loves Ruins and Architecture. I only wish that, more of its history was known. Conspiracy theorists will make you believe that this is the quintessential haunted bunglow that is often spoken about, although they won't be far off the mark because it does retain a ghostly charm. I wonder if any student who studied in the erstwhile school would have any stories to share. The doors bear evidence of court notices and a small black name plate bears the name of the current owner. I was tempted to jump over the small fence and explore more but was running short on time, but I will return soon.
Comments
Did to ever end up going back?
Curious to know p
I have to ask him, weather it's this same house
Thanks for sharing
Yesterday first time i visited the place and I got so facinated to know more about the history of this place...while browsing the internet i came accross this post...now the place looks all the more ruined...I felt sad that once again such beautiful place is taken over by some rich builders...he will demolish and build some commercial complex....and the history, architectures are gone