Old Dispensary

The Old Dispensary sits on Mizingani Road, catching the eye with its elaborate carved wooden balconies and stained glass, a design that pulls together Indian, European, and Swahili influences. Commissioned in eighteen eighty-seven by the wealthy merchant Sir Tharia Topan, the structure was originally intended to be a charitable hospital honoring the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Construction stalled after Topan died in eighteen ninety-one, leaving his widow to face exhausting costs before a new owner finally finished the building in eighteen ninety-four.