Cebu Heritage Walk in pictures

[arnoldsa]

---

The pictures that I will be posting were from a walk of downtown Cebu that I did last month. I hope everyone will realize that Cebu has so many heritage sites and that we need to restore and rehabilitate these..

[arnoldsa]

THE CEBU HERITAGE WALK
(Strolling Through the Heritage Sites of Cebu)
Photos by arnoldsa

Text Source: Colon Street Heritage Markers, Life in Old Parian, The Freeman Newspaper

WALK ONE: Mabini-Colon Street

Our walk starts here. Colon street also known as Parian is the Philippines’ oldest street built by the Spaniards when they arrived in Cebu in 1565 on board the San Pedro, San Pablo, and San Juan ships under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (presently interred at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila)

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/00Colon-Mabini.jpg[/img]
[img width=360 height=480]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/02Colonmarker.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/03Colonobelisk.jpg[/img]
[img width=360 height=480]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/06ColonObelisk.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/07Colonstreet.jpg[/img]


GUIDETTI’S STUDIO

Dante Guidetti was an expatriate Italian artist who, upon his discharge from the Italian army in the early years of the 20th century, found himself in Cebu. He established his studio on Colon Street where he made a name for himself as practitioner of classical sculptor and a mentor of the young artist of Cebu. He carved the figures from Greek mythology, which adorned the façade of Vision Theater and which created quite a furor among the pious sectors of the populace in the 1930s. Other works of Guidetti include the Osmena Mausoleum in San Miguel and the statues in the Talisay Town Plaza.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/08Giudettistudio.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/09Giudettistudio.jpg[/img]


VAñO RESIDENCE

The Vaños were descended from a Portuguese gentlemen, Don Juan Reyes, whose daughter Mariquita married Don Jaime Vaño, a Spanish mestizo from the Ilocos. The Vano descendants married into such affluent mestizo families like the Corominasm Garces, Vano, Escaño, and Sanson.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/10VanoResidence.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/11VanoResidence.jpg[/img]


RALLOS RESIDENCE

One of the biggest landowner in Cebu was Don Florentino Rallos who was the President or Mayor of Cebu City during the early American era. He owned almost the entire block. One of the descendants, Florentino Rallos III, is a very successful businessman, exporter and importer.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/12RallosResidence.jpg[/img][img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/13RallosResidence.jpg[/img]


STUDYING IN COLON

Many of the prominent schools and universities in Cebu today have at one time or another set up shop along one section in Colon where it intersects Jakosalem Street. There was the Southern Institute, forerunner of the University of Southern Philippines, along one corner. Across it was built the Visayan Institute, which later became the University of the Visayas. Opposite this was the Spanish era Colegio Logarta which later gave way to Cebu Normal School. And, still later UP Junior College. The Southern Institute, founded in 1927, was originally an elementary and high school founded by Don Agustin Jereza, his wife Dona Beatriz Duterte Jereza, her sister Dona Soledad Sanson and other prominent Cebuanos. His home was a one-room Bahay na Bato with tiled roof. Later it was moved to Mabini street and became the Southern College and then as the University of Southern Philippines (Mabini Branch).

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/16StudyinginColon.jpg[/img][img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/17StudyinginColon.jpg[/img]


DOñA MODESTA SINGSON-GAISANO RESIDENCE

A modest house on this site was the residence of one of the greatest Philanthropists of Cebu. Doña Modesta Singson-Gaisano, matriarch of the Singson-Gaisano Clan, which owns and operates the biggest chain of department stores in Cebu. Doña Modesta’s memory is perpetuated through the scholarships, which her descendants continue to provide to poor but intelligent students.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/14GaisanoResidence.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/15GaisanoResidence.jpg[/img]


SOUTHERN INSTITUTE

Southern Institute started as a high school. Its founder president was Don Agustin Jereza and Doña Soledad Duterte Sanson. The high school grew later into a university, the University of Southern Philippines which was transferred to Mabini street. The present university now occupies a much bigger area in Lahug under the helm of its president, former Cebu City Mayor Ronald Duterte. The family has maintained a Southern Institute in Bantayan, Cebu.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/18SouthernInstitute.jpg[/img]


RESIDENCE OF DON VICTORIANO OSMEñA AND DR. MAMERTO ESCAñO

Don Victoriano Osmena was an elder half-brother of Dona Juana Osmena, mother of Don Sergio Osmena Sr. while his siblings opted to live in Carcar, don Victoriano preferred to reside in Parian, having married a long-time resident of the district, Dona Januaria Cabrera. Don Victoriano ran a shipping office on Colon Street. A daughter of Don Victoriano, Juanita, married Governor Arsenio Climaco.

On this site stood the imposing mansion of Dr. Mamerto Escaño and his wife, Doña Filomena Fortich de Escaño. The Escaños hailed from Malitbog, Leyte but operated several big businesses in Cebu, the most important of which was a shipping company (Escaño Lines).

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/19EscanoandOsmenaResidence.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/21EscanoandOsmenaResidence.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/20EscanoandOsmenaResidence.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/22EscanoandOsmenaResidence.jpg[/img]


RESIDENCE OF DON TOMAS OSMEñA

Don Tomas Osmeña was a wealthy uncle of the late President Sergio Osmeña Sr. It was he who carefully nurtured the career of the brilliant student and promising leader of Cebu and the country as well. Tomas R. Osmeña, current Mayor of Cebu City (when this marker was put up) was named after him.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/23DonTomasResidence.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/24DonTomasResidence.jpg[/img]


DIMSUM HOUSE

Originally home of Gavino Sepulveda, a Cebuano who fought in the Filipino-American War. In 1926 one part became Casino Español de Cebu, an exclusive clubhouse for the affluent Spanish residents while its other part became Menzi, a paper company. In 1960s Don Tirso Uytengsu, a Chinese businessman acquired and put up the family-owned General Milling Corporation Office. In 1981, Henry Uytengsu transferred his Ding How Dimsum House, Cebu’s original dimsum restaurant, to this location.

[img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/28DimsumHouse.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/29DimsumHouse.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/30DimsumHouse.jpg[/img]


ELITE BAKERY

Built in 1920 this building owned by Quirino Rodriguez was the site of the famed Elite Bakery owned and operated by Emilio Osmeña (beheaded during WWII) and his wife Mary Renner (a German mestiza). Elite Bakery became one of the most patronized refreshment parlor by the elite few of Cebu. The original building though was destroyed during World War II and the present building was rebuilt by Jose Humiliano Timteo Inez Rodriguez de Pages.

[img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/37EliteBakery.jpg[/img][img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/38EliteBakery.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/39Colon-JonesIntersection.jpg[/img]



OTHER PICTURES

Vision Theater

- Designed by Dante Guidetti (see top page)

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/35VisionTheater.jpg[/img][img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/34VisionTheater.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/36VisionTheater.jpg[/img]

Oriente Theater
[img width=400 height=300]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/41OrienteTheater.jpg[/img]

Art Deco Building
[img width=400 height=300]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/44ArtdecobuildinginJakosalem.jpg[/img]

Cebu Business Hotel
[img width=400 height=300]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/42CebuBusinessHotel.jpg[/img]

Plaza Fair
[img width=400 height=300]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/43PlazaFair.jpg[/img]

Vistarama Theater
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/33Colon-Vistarama.jpg[/img]


@Photos maybe lifted as long as credits are given where it is due.

[lindsay]

nice pix....i remember my college days when colon st. is just the it thing after school...

[arnoldsa]

yup

[arnoldsa]

WALK TWO: Pari-an District

From the junction of Colon and Mabini, we head west towards the main district of Pari-an, once a neighborhood of Cebu’s prominent and affluent Chinese mestizo families. During the Spanish times a church once stood at the center of it though it was reduced to a Visita from a Parish since the friars thought that it was competing with the Cathedral and the San Agustin Church nearby. Today, one can just see a Fire Station built on the very foundations of that church.


18th CENTURY JESUIT HOUSE

Built during the 18th century, little is known of this Jesuit House. One can still see the original walls outside of the house which have been converted into a warehouse by the Sy Family of Ho Tong Hardware. It is said that one can still see the original structures of the house inside though permission is necessary. (Source: Ateneo de Manila Website)

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/25jesuithouse.jpg[/img]


THE HERITAGE OF CEBU MONUMENT

Commissioned during the time of Mayor Alvin Garcia, the monument was an original idea of the artist Eduardo Castrillo and the mayor. It was conceptualized in 1996; construction began in 1997 and was completed on December 8, 2000. During the excavation for its foundation, artifacts of pre-Spanish Cebuanos were dug out, which included skeletons and several stonewares like plates and jars. This further proved that Cebu really was already a flourishing area even before Magellan “toured” the country.
(Source: The Freeman Newspaper, Heritage of Cebu Marker)

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/01heritagemonument.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/02heritagemonument.jpg[/img]
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[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/08heritagemonument.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/09heritagemonument.jpg[/img]
[img width=360 height=480]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/05heritagemonument.jpg[/img]


The Pari-an Fire Station. A church once stood here during the Spanish times.

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/13parianfirestation.jpg[/img]


The Sandiego Ancestral Home

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/16sandiegohome.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/15sandiegohome.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/14sandiegohome.jpg[/img]


A Pre-War Building

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/17pre-warbuilding.jpg[/img]


The Eduardo Aboitiz Developmental Studies Center.

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/18aboitizcenter.jpg[/img]


CASA GORORDO

Home of Bishop Gorordo, the first Cebuano bishop of Cebu. It is presently a museum but temporarily closed for public viewing due to some restoration works.

[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/19casagorordo.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/20casagorordo.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/21casagorordo.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/22casagorordo.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/23casagorordo.jpg[/img]
[img width=480 height=360]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/24casagorordo.jpg[/img]

[BayouPinoy]

arnoldsa:

Thank you very much for sharing these pictures with the forum. I think it is very important to know what Cebu once was as this will help us understand where it is headed. When I was going through the Cebu school system, I learned the history of other places but other than Lapu Lapu and the Spanish-centric history text, Cebu's history was a big unknown for me. The "Heritage of Cebu" just about sums it for me: the Spanish culture cues are all over that tableau, with the likeness of Lapu Lapu sticking out like a sore thumb, as if he was stuck there as an afterthought. Que horror! (I even curse in Spanish). He should be towering above everything else. Bitaw, personal opinion and the standard disclaimers apply.

These pictures, along with the photos in a related thread, pretty much speak for themselves, further proof that pictures really convey the feeling more than gobs of text. On a personal note, I think it is tragicomical that several of these markers stand infront of virtual holes in the wall, with nary an indication of any links to the past. Where there is evidence of a history (the Jesuit place), the place is fenced in with a guard tower to boot (I thought the Spanish left a century ago?). My personal favorites are the locations of the mansions of the Escaños and the Osmeñas: I have this nagging feeling that Lapu-Lapu had better accomodations than the structures (or nonstructures) that currently stand on these sites. So there you are Cebu, an island rich in history but has done a poor job of preserving and documenting its heritage.

arnoldsa, again I thank you for posting and sharing these pictures. If you took the pictures, let me commend you for the quality and the composition of these images. I think these scream "National Geographic." I think this is a pictorial commentary in itself. It begs questions, challenges people's convictions, and captures the conflicting dichotomy of a time and place.

p.s. The Pari-an fire station is a national embarassment. Dare I say this structure is a violation of the fire code? Cebu and its people deserves a better fire station than this.

[tolstoi]

OLD MAGALLANES BUILDINGS

[img width=500 height=368]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/laotech/Sinulog/old.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=309]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/laotech/Sinulog/old2.jpg[/img]


CASINO ESPANOL

[img width=500 height=375]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b252/laotech/Sinulog/old3.jpg[/img]

[arnoldsa]

@tolstoi

Kudos bai for your contributions.. The house of Dr. Cui, which once was a temporary Casino Espanol, looks very very stately..

@BayouPinoy

The old Jesuit House in Pari-an is actually still intact inside. The Ateneo website described it as a compound similar to the Convento of the San Agustin Church. The balusters, the original staircases, and the house itself is still standing though unfortunately it has been converted into a warehouse. I guess it needs an amount of political will to get the structure back..

arnoldsa:

Thank you very much for sharing these pictures with the forum. I think it is very important to know what Cebu once was as this will help us understand where it is headed. When I was going through the Cebu school system, I learned the history of other places but other than Lapu Lapu and the Spanish-centric history text, Cebu's history was a big unknown for me. The "Heritage of Cebu" just about sums it for me: the Spanish culture cues are all over that tableau, with the likeness of Lapu Lapu sticking out like a sore thumb, as if he was stuck there as an afterthought. Que horror! (I even curse in Spanish). He should be towering above everything else. Bitaw, personal opinion and the standard disclaimers apply.

These pictures, along with the photos in a related thread, pretty much speak for themselves, further proof that pictures really convey the feeling more than gobs of text. On a personal note, I think it is tragicomical that several of these markers stand infront of virtual holes in the wall, with nary an indication of any links to the past. Where there is evidence of a history (the Jesuit place), the place is fenced in with a guard tower to boot (I thought the Spanish left a century ago?). My personal favorites are the locations of the mansions of the Escaños and the Osmeñas: I have this nagging feeling that Lapu-Lapu had better accomodations than the structures (or nonstructures) that currently stand on these sites. So there you are Cebu, an island rich in history but has done a poor job of preserving and documenting its heritage.

arnoldsa, again I thank you for posting and sharing these pictures. If you took the pictures, let me commend you for the quality and the composition of these images. I think these scream "National Geographic." I think this is a pictorial commentary in itself. It begs questions, challenges people's convictions, and captures the conflicting dichotomy of a time and place.

p.s. The Pari-an fire station is a national embarassment. Dare I say this structure is a violation of the fire code? Cebu and its people deserves a better fire station than this.

[arnoldsa]

WALK THREE: Stopover at Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and Plaza

From Pari-an, we head south along Mabini Street towards the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the Archbishopric City of Cebu.

The Cathedral is home to Cebu’s biggest pipe organ made of 1,200 tin alloy and wood pipes encased in narra, calantas, and tanguile wood from the Philippines and almaciga wood from Brazil. It was presented to the Cebuanos in 1996 by the Diego Cera Organ Builders, the first Filipino pipe organ building company which designs, constructs, and maintains pipe organs in the tradition of Fray Diego Cera of the 1800s who built the famous Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas. This pipe organ is only played on masses celebrated by the Archbishop himself.

PLAZA HAMABAR
Once an eyesore and now a tourist attraction, the Plaza Hamabar is a renovated historical park initiated by former First Lady of Cebu City Mrs. Ninette Neri Garcia. Located in the vicinity of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, Plaza Hamabar was a strollers's paradise of churchgoers during the Hispanic era.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/19hamabar.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/20hamabar.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/21hamabar.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/22hamabar.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/23hamabar.jpg[/img]


OF CLOWNS, MAGICIANS, AND ACTORS
Palace Jests were not an uncommon sight in Medieval Europe. They seem to have existed for a purpose which is to provide humor to an otherwise boring day. Forward back to the modern times and we can still see them today but in a different way. The photos below were of an act performed outside the cathedral gates. He claimed to have magical powers to turn a frog into a rat; and paper into currency. His audience however were beginning to grow impatient with his tactics and they left him without notice, which forced him to stop his show.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/26outside.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/25outside.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/24outside.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/27outside.jpg[/img]


ARCHDIOCESAN MUSEUM
The Episcopal Palace of Cebu stands outside the enclosed plaza in front of the cathedral. One of two Spanish colonial episcopal palaces still remaining, the residence is an oversized bahay na bato, Its construction is typical of 19th century domestic architecture: a lower story of stone and an upper story of wood. The palace is being restored to house an ecclesiastical museum. The old altar from the cathedral will be displayed in the museum.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/17museum.jpg[/img]


CEBU METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL
The Cebu Cathedral took about a century to complete because of frequent interruptions. One of three dioceses created in 1595 (the other two being Nueva Segovia and Nueva Caceres), Cebu was raised to the status of archdiocese in 1934 with the dioceses of Calbayog, Jaro, Zamboanga, Bacolod, and Cagayan de Oro as suffragans. During the Spanish period, Cebu had the most extensive territory because Guam and the Marianas fell under its jurisdiction. Only in 1898, because of the Treaty of Paris, did Cebu lose these territories.

Despite it age and status, Cebu did not have a cathedral worthy of it for many decades. The first church was built in 1595 of wood, bamboo and thatch. Although stonewalls were added it was in a sorry state according to a 1667 report of Bp. Juan Lopez to the King of Spain. To remedy this, Bp. Diego de Aguilar began a new church but was unable to finish; his successor Bp. Miguel Bayot instead of completing what had been started began a new structure. Again he was not able to accomplish much. Bp. Sebastian de Foronda found the building too small and inappropriate, calling it a "barn." Again work was discontinued.

In 1719, the military engineer Juan de Ciscara was commissioned to design the cathedral. He opted for a cruciform design with short transepts. He placed the altar mayor at the crossing, reserved the apse for the altar de pardon, and placed the choir stalls for the cathedral canon in the nave. Work on the construction was suspended when funds were diverted to military campaigns against slave raiders. Construction began in 1734, was interrupted four years later, and resumed in 1741 under Bp. Protasio Cabezas. The facade was completed in 1786 and in 1811 the cathedral was blessed. The completed cathedral departed from Ciscara’s plans. It was renovated in 1829, 1836 when Bp. Santos Marañon, who designed other churches in Cebu, designed and built the bell tower. The cathedral was improved in 1886, during the incumbency of Bp. Gorordo, and in 1939. Damaged during World War II, architect Jose Zaragosa rebuilt the cathedral in 1959. The cathedral's interior was renovated recently.

Heritage Features: Because of damage caused by World War II and the recent renovation, nothing of the historical interior remains, however, the exterior remains 18th century. The 21-meter high facade is capped by a pediment shaped like a trefoil. The monogram IHS decorates the upper register pediment while small circular openings decorate the lower part. A pair of griffins and bas-relief floral designs fills the pediment. Paired columns on a tall plinth divide the two-story facade vertically and the cornice over the main door is broken and emblazoned with a coat of arms in low relief.
(Source: Ateneo de Manila University Website)

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/09cathedral.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/02cathedral.jpg[/img]
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[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/01cathedral.jpg[/img] [img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/13cathedral.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/16cathedral.jpg[/img]
[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/12cathedral.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/11cathedral.jpg[/img]
[img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/13cathedral.jpg[/img] [img width=384 height=512]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/10cathedral.jpg[/img]


OTHER PICTURES

The Spanish-style lamppost adorn almost all of the heritage worthy districts of downtown Cebu City.

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/30lamppost.jpg[/img] [img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/29lamppost.jpg[/img]
[img width=288 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/28lamppost.jpg[/img]

[BayouPinoy]

[img width=512 height=384]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/CebuHeritageWalk/19hamabar.jpg[/img]

arnoldsa: I note that these pictures are at photobucket. I think these need to be compiled, along with others that document Cebu's heritage, in some website, ala wikipidea, to allow others to contribute and comment.

I can't help but comment on that fat, half-naked, mestizoesque statue that is supposed to represent the halangdon nga Rajah Humabon. On the other hand, Pigafetta was supposed to report that:

"Raja Humabon was seated on the ground on a mat of palms, with many people. He was quite naked, except for a cloth covering his private parts."

"Round his head was a very loose cloth, embroidered with silk. Round his neck was a very heavy rich chain, and in his ears were two gold rings hung with precious stones. He was a short man, and fat, and had his face painted with fire in diverse patterns. He ate on the ground from another palm mat, and then he was eating turtle eggs on two porcelain dishes, and he had four jars full of palm wine, which he drank with reed pipes."

Let me see, pierced, tattoed, and wore a heavy gold chain. Man, this Rajah was either a rapper or a rocker in his time.