Built in the midst of what would have been extensive gardens, the Makarpura Palace was commissioned by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad in 1870. The palace was built as a summer residence and a hunting resort for the royal family.
The site of the palace was specially selected due to its proximity to the vast deer reserves, for hunting. Maharaja Khanderao spent a lot of time hunting near the Dhaniavi area in Makarpura, popularly known as Shikarkhana. It is said that Malharrao Gaekwad, Khanderao’s brother who ruled Baroda from 1870 to 1875, destroyed a portion of this palace. Later in 1883, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III the adopted son of Khanderao renovated and made additions to it.
The Palace:
The palace was built in two phases, the structure to the right in the above picture was built by Khanderao Gaekwad while the one to the left was a later addition by Sayajirao III. Both the buildings look almost identical and feature the Italian Renaissance style architecture. In all, the palace complex boasted a 130-acre Japanese-styled garden designed by Willaim Goldring, along with ornamental fountains, a swimming pool, a series of pavilions and a lake with swans.
Almost similar, both the palace structures feature rows of classical arches gracefully decreasing in size as one goes up. The three-storeyed structures are connected to each other via a corridor on the ground and the first floors. They also feature a single-storeyed porte-cochere with Italian style multifoil fountains in the front. While this was about the front, the rear portions consisted of a series of terraces interconnected with staircases and shaded by corrugated chajjas.
Now in a very dilapidated condition, the interiors of the palace once had elaborate embellishments. They consisted of painted ceilings, grand wooden staircases, and stucco panels along with chandeliers and wooden furniture.
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The palace now comes under Indian Air Force, who used it for many years as their office before finally abandoning it. Over the years the vast gardens that once surrounded the palace disappeared only leaving behind the ornamental fountains. Even the palace itself has become a pile of rubble, with heaps of its falling to the ground because of neglect and disrepair. The palace is in urgent need in conservation, which if not undertaken quickly, the palace will end up like the Bhadra or the old Nazarbaug which has completely disappeared !!!
Main gate of Makarpura is having history stone on the head above where it is written ROYAL LODGE 1895. Gate prepared by the company in europe clearly mentioning the firm name of British.