Another eye-catching building visible from the Parade Ground is the Barrack Block. It was built in 1864 as a 3-storey building that featured a pediment at the top. Initially it served as the quarters for police officers, and also housed the early fire services squad. Later, the police force expanded its ranks and the space became insufficient. In 1905 an additional floor was added and the pediment was removed. The roof, however, remains a pyramidal timber-structure.
The façade of the barrack block can be divided into five horizontal sections. The designs are symmetrical with the central, eastern and western sections protuberant; the remaining two sections are indented. With the exception of the eastern and western edges, all floors feature expansive verandas to facilitate ventilation while shielding the interior from sunlight and rain. Roman vaults are adopted at the verandas on the ground floor and 1st floor, which helps distribute the weight to the columns on the sides. The verandas on the 2nd and 3rd floors are partitioned by Doric columns. The verandas still feature the stone candleholders from the old days, which were used for burning candles for illumination.
The foundation and the stairs of the building are built using granite. The floor plates are brick structures. This is a feature of early colonial architecture. The anterior of the building is supported by a buttress, which was possibly added after the war to support the damaged building structure.
The barrack block was later repurposed into a Police Administrative Building, which housed offices, report rooms, detainment rooms and the armoury, and also the changing room, the recreation room, the fitness room, the lounge, the canteen, and even dormitories.
