Architecture of The Philippines - Architecture During The American Colonial Period

Architecture During The American Colonial Period

After the Spanish–American War in 1898, the Americans took control of the Philippines until after the World War II. During this period, the Americans constructed many Neoclassical buildings in Manila.

In 1902 Judge William Howard Taft was appointed to head the Philippine Commission to evaluate the needs of the new territory. Taft, who later became the first civilian Governor-General of the Philippines, decided that Manila, the capital, should be a planned city. He hired as his architect and city planner Daniel Burnham, who had built Union Station and the post office in Washington, D.C.. In Manila, Mr. Burnham had in mind a long wide, tree-lined boulevard along the bay, beginning at a park area dominated by a magnificent hotel. To design what would be the Manila Hotel Taft hired William E. Parsons, a New York architect, who envisioned an impressive, but comfortable hotel, along the lines of a grander California mission. The original design was an H-shaped plan that focused on well-ventilated rooms on two wings, providing grand vistas of the harbor, the Luneta Park, and Intramuros. The top floor was a large viewing deck that was used for various functions, including watching the United States Navy steam into the harbor.

Many of these buildings were heavily damaged during the Battle of Manila in 1945. After the Second World War, many were rebuilt. Many buildings in Manila were later designed by the Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano.

In 1911, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the Manila Army and Navy Club at the shore of Manila Bay bordering the Luneta Park. The building consists of a grand entrance and has three stories that housed the various function rooms and the hotel rooms. Together with its sister, the Elks Club, it was the center of social life for many Americans for decades.

At T.M. Kalaw Street stands one of the remaining structures that survived the liberation of Manila in 1945, the Luneta Hotel, which was completed in 1918. According to Dean Joseph Fernandez of the University of Santo Tomas, the hotel was designed by the Spanish architect-engineer Salvador Farre. The structure is the only remaining example of the French Renaissance architecture with Filipino stylized Beaux-Arts architecture in the Philippines to date.

The Manila Metropolitan Theater is an Art Deco building designed by the Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano, and built in 1935. During the liberation of Manila by the Americans in 1945, the theatre was totally destroyed. After reconstruction by the Americans it gradually fell into disuse in the 1960s. In the following decade it was meticulously restored but again fell into decay. The city of Manila is planning a renovation of this once magnificent building.

The sculptures upon the façade of the theater are by Italian sculptor Francesco Riccardo Monti, who lived in Manila from 1930 until his death in 1958, and worked closely with Juan M. Arellano. Highly stylized relief carving of Philippine plants executed by the artist Isabelo Tampingco decorate the lobby walls and interior surfaces of the building.

In 1940 the Manila Jai Alai Building was constructed along Taft Avenue, designed by architect Welton Becket. It was built in the Philippine Art Deco style. In addition to hosting jai alai, it included the famous "Sky Lounge". Unfortunately, demolition began on July 15, 2000 on the orders of Mayor Lito Atienza.

At the Far Eastern University (FEU) in Quiapo, Manila, five Art Deco structures on the campus were designed by National Artist Pablo Antonio. Three were built before World War II and two, after. Although FEU buildings were totally damaged during the war, the university was restored to its original Art Deco design immediately after. The university was given a UNESCO Asia Pacific-Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage in 2005 for the outstanding preservation of its Art Deco structures.