Manila City Hall Postcards

The postcards show the Manila City Hall and its clock tower. The original Manila City Hall was built during the early days of American occupation. A new city hall was constructed in 1937, with then Manila Mayor Juan Posadas, Jr., lobbying for a new City Hall. The building had an initial appropriation of Php500,000. Building plans were prepared by Architect Antonio Toledo of the Bureau of Public Works. In 1939, with only a major southern portion of the complex was built, Mayor Posadas died.

Manila City Hall Postcard 1

The edifice is a four-level floor with the clock tower located five levels higher on the north side, and with a garden at the center of the complex. The present city hall is a restoration after it was partially destroyed during World War II. The building proper, if seen from above, resembles a coffin with the clock tower as its candle.

Manila City Hall Postcard 2

The clock tower became a distinctive trademark of the city and the city hall. The clock tower is part of the 5000 square meter Manila City Hall building bounded by Taft Avenue on the West side, Concepcion Road on the north and Arroceros Street on the east. It took about four years to complete the whole complex with the signature clock tower in its northern portion. It was patterned after the famous "Big Ben" clock tower in London.

Manila City Hall Postcard 3

In November 1998, the clock tower (three meters in circumference) was restored to its original state, with the four faces synchronized.

Manila City Hall Postcard 4

SOURCES:Senor Enrique's Blog Entry on Manila City Hall
Manila City Hall Wikipedia Entry

City Hall Clock Tower: On time, same time by Remia Bibit-Eugenio
Cruising Magazine Vol. VI No. 4 September 2004 page29

Cagayan de Oro City Hall Postcard

The postcard shows the Executive Building (Old Cagayan de Oro City Hall) which was the former site of the Casa Real de Cagayan or the Spanish Provincial Governors residence. The building however was demolished and the existing City Hall was built in its place. Inaugurated on August 26, 1940 as the new Municipal Hall of Cagayan town, it became the City Hall of the new Cagayan de Oro City in 1950. It is among the buildings that survived the Japanese, Filipino and American bombardment in World War II.

Cagayan de Oro City Hall Postcard

When the city hall was renovated, the new architect tried to retain some of its colonial lines by installing new dentils and dentil bands beneath the media-agua. The old capiz windows, however, were removed and replaced with modern French windows.

SOURCES:
Cagayan de Oro Wikipedia Entry
Heritage Structures in Cagayan de Oro

Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Postcard

The postcard shows the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City which was built from 1924 to 1935 in the style of American neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture favored by the city planner Daniel Burnham. The capitol complex is located three blocks north of the cathedral, bound by Gatuslao and Lacson Streets.

Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Postcard

The capitol is planned as an E. The central section is marked by a three story colonnade crowned by Corinthian capitals. Entrance to the capitol is through wide stairs equal in length to the colonnade. Three entrances lead to the central lobby. Directly in front twin staircases in tropical hardwood lead to the main session hall of the building on the second floor. From the second floor secluded and narrow flights of stairs lead to an upper gallery (corresponding to the attic in the Neoclassical design). Sculptures decorating the capitol and the adjacent lagoon are attributed to Guillermo Tolentino, National Artist for Sculpture.

SOURCE:
Bacolod City Tour: The Provincial Capitol

Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol Postcard

The postcard shows the Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol in Cagayan de Oro. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find information from the internet or from my books about the capitol. The only relevant information I got online are:

Period or style: American Colonial
Year erected: 1948-50

Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol Postcard

SOURCE:
Heritage Structures in Cagayan de Oro

Leyte Provincial Capitol Postcards

The postcard shows the Leyte Provincial Capitol in Tacloban City which is the seat of the provincial government of Leyte. Construction of the capitol started in 1918 (i), and completed and inaugurated in 1924. The capitol sports a neoclassical architectural style typical of American-era government edifices. It was the seat of the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines when President Sergio Osmena, Sr., came in 1944 with the World War II Liberation Forces.

Leyte Provincial Capitol Postcard

The original edifice was renovated, expanded and beautified in 1964. Two bas reliefs can be found on both sides of the capitol: a depiction of the "first mass" on Limasawa Island (unveiled on March 31, 1965) and the landing of Gen. Douglas MacArthur on Red Beach, Palo, Leyte (unveiled on October 20, 1964).

Leyte Provincial Capitol Postcard 2
with MacArthur landing mural

SOURCES:
Leyte Provincial Capitol Building
The Neo-Classical Leyte Provincial Capitol

(i) The Imperial Tapestry: American Colonial Architecture in the Philippinesby Norma I. Alarcon, Fuap, page 117