The old Secretariat building on Maulana Azad Road is one of the finest examples of the distinctive Kashmiri architectural style that flourished under the Dogra Maharajas in the late 19th and early 20th century. The building combines traditional Kashmiri elements — steeply pitched wooden-shingled roofs, carved timber brackets, and a general timbered heaviness — with a civic grandeur that reflects the Maharajas' ambitions for a modern capital. The effect is unlike anything else in India.
The Secretariat was the administrative centre of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and continued in that role after Independence. The surrounding area of Maulana Azad Road has several other Dogra-era public buildings in a similar style, making a short walk here worthwhile for anyone interested in the architectural history of the city. The building is not open to the public beyond the entrance, but the exterior can be examined from the road. The contrast with the Mughal-era wooden mosques of the old city visible from the same general area provides a compressed history of the city's architectural layers.