76. 22 MUNICIPAL AND CITY HALLS OF THE PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA

ANGELES CITY HALL

The Angeles City Hall is located in barangay Pulung Maragul, the Angeles City Hall of Justice, and other government buildings. The original municipio however, was constructed during the American regime, in 1922, under mayor Juan D. Nepomuceno, and was built from the original 1840 Casa Tribunal. It is now a museum.

APALIT MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Pampanga's Gateway to Manila and The Blacksmith Capital of Pampanga.

ARAYAT MUNICIPAL HALL

The renovated Arayat Municipal Hall is fronted by a monument of its most illustrious son, Gen. Jose Alejandrino, astride his steed.

BACOLOR MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal building is the former site of the Venturas house, one of Bacolor's most prominent families. On July 8, 1953, the new town hall was completed during the term of Mayor Manuel de Jesus. Its construction was a project of Senator Pablo Angeles David, a native of Bacolor.

CANDABA MUNICIPAL HALL

Candaba, the ancient town noted for its swamplands, and bird sanctuaries, has a neoclassic-style municipal hall centrally located in the poblacion, Brgy. Paralaya.

FLORIDABLANCA MUNICIPAL HALL

The Municipal Hall Building of Floridablanca is on Macabulos St., Brgy. Poblacion, next to the church of Floridablanca.

GUAGUA MUNICIPAL HALL

The heritage town hall of Guagua was built in 1937. The 80 year old Commonwealth-era edifice, which stands on the ground fronting Plaza Burgos,  has  kept most of its original features. The old statue of the patriotic writer, Aurelio Tolentino has been moved to the front of the municipal hall. It  has been declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Historic Commission of the Philippines.

LUBAO MUNICIPAL HALL

The Lubao Municipal Hall, ca. 1937 is one of the early concrete structures erected during the Commonwealth years. It was originally a 2-storey building with stairs at the sides, eventually acquiring a neo-classic look. Much of its original features are intact. In March 2016, a new municipal hall costing Php14.7 million is envisioned to rise  in Brgy. Santa Catalina in an area where the town traces its beginnings.

MABALACAT CITY HALL

The Mabalacat City Hall relocated  to the Xevera Complex of Brgy. Tabun in 2009, from its original site in Poblacion, where the old town hall building still stands next to the elementary school. The old municipio  dates from the American regime, and was improved and expanded in 1951.

MACABEBE MUNICIPAL HALL

The massive Macabebe Municipal Hall is noted for its statue of boy-hero Tarik Soliman, the first native to give up his life for independence at the Battle of Bangkusay, and recognized by the government.

MAGALANG MUNICIPAL HALL

The Magalang Municipal Hall is a town landmark located across the Plaza de la Libertad. Its predecessor was the old Spanish era Casa Tribunal (ca. 1866). The new edifice was built in 1922 , during the presidency of Antonio Y. Luciano, and was inaugurated 2 years later. The municipal building, which survived the war and other natural calamities, was declared an Important Cultural property in 2015.

MASANTOL MUNICIPAL HALL

In Oct. 2017, groundbreaking activities were held for the renovation of the old flood-prone municipal building that houses different government offices. The improvement calls for the construction of a 3-storey building, to be connected with the executive and legislative building for faster delivery of public service.

MEXICO MUNICIPAL HALL

Mexico’s 2-storey town hall is right in the town center, across the public market, adjacent to the police station and close to the Sta. Monica parish.

MINALIN MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Minalin is a modernized period building , that includes the Police Station on its grounds.

PORAC MUNICIPAL HALL

The Porac Municipal Hall is a large, modern edifice along Gen. Luna St., in the town poblacion.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO HALL

The City Hall is located in the heritage district of San Fernando, across the street from the Cathedral of San Fernando. It began as a casa municipal in 1755, made out of stone and thatch. It was burned by the Philippine Revolutionary Army on orders of Gen. Antonio Luna, on May 4, 1899. The building was again reconstructed in 1917. Burned down during WWII, the municipio was reconstructed post-war using its original adobe stonework. The municipio, considered a heritage building, was last restored in 2003 by Mayor Rey B. Aquino.

SAN LUIS MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of San Luis is an elongated, fenced-in 2 storey building in the heart of the town.

SAN SIMON MUNICIPAL HALL
The municipal hall of this town of over 55,000 people is a contemporary 2-floor building that is in a well-secured location on Punzalan St., Brgy. Tualoc, San Agustin.

SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL HALL

The Sta. Ana Municipal Hall is located in the poblacion, next to the church. As the building is small and situated in a traffic area, a plan  to transfer the town hall on a 1.5 hectare lang in brgy. Sto. Domingo was conceived in 2015, by then-outgoing mayor, Rommel Concepcion. It has been built since then, but is not functional.

SANTA RITA MUNICIPAL HALL

Sta. Rita Town Hall is a larger, new building built on the site of the old  municipio (built in 1951) that is just a stone’s throw away across the ancient Sta. Rita Church. The town hall is located in brgy. San Jose.

SANTO TOMAS MUNICIPAL HALL

When the municipality of Sto. Tomas was re-inaugurated in 1952, the first town hall was temporarily located at the house of its first mayor, Patricio Gomez. The current modern hall is compact in size, and in 2011, the Donato B. Pangilinan, Sr., an annex, was erected.

SASMUAN MUNICIPAL HALL

The municipal hall of Sasmuan, a contemporary 2-storey concrete building, of Sasmuan is located in brgy. Sta. Lucia.

SOURCES:
www.pampangatalents.com,
wikimedia commons
i-orbit news

65. 12 STATELY KAPAMPANGAN RESIDENCES, AS THEY LOOKED IN THE 1930s

The 1930s was a period of relative peace and prosperity for many Kapampangans, especially for those who made their fortunes from the province’s burgeoning sugar and rice industry. Old colonial homes were refurbished and expanded, modern residences were built,  designer mansions and multi-storey homes were commissioned to be lived in, and to be seen. Here are some of them as they appeared in the halcyon days of the 1930s.

 **********

The spacious Don Alfonso de Leon residence was designed by Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo, considEred as the “Father of Modern Architecture”. It was constructed with Rizal Cement and furnished with renowned Puyat Furniture pieces.

The residence of Don Luis Wenceslao Dison and Feliza Hizon Dison is located in brgy. San Jose. It is another creation of Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo, built with Rizal Cement, painted by A.B. Villanueva & Sons, and furnished with Puyat Furniture. The 1930s house, whose main features remain intact,  is now being used as the Archdiocesan Chancery.

Don Benigno Fajardo is one of the founding fathers of Lubao Institute which opened in 1929. The most distinctive part of his multi-level house is the double-roofed upper storey terrace, accessible by a grand central staircase.

A prominent sugar planter of Lubao, Don Ambrosio Gonzales (b.1876/d.1957)  is also a socio-civic leader of the town, having founded the Hormiga de Hierro (Ants of Steel) in 1901. His charming 2-storey house, which is enclosed by a metal grill fence, sits on a lush garden and is typical of the modernized homes in 1930s Pampanga.

The Guanzon house was built in 1932 by Don Felipe Pineda Guanzon for his wife Dona Epifania Alvendia- Guanzon of Sta. Rita. Known today as Villa Epifania, the concrete house has sleek art deco elements, a style in vogue during the Commonwealth years.

Don Leandro Ibarra, an accomplished lawyer, was named Secretary of Interior of the Philippine Revolutionary Government under Emilio Aguinaldo. His capacious  “bahay na bato” residence was still well-kept and in order in the 1930s,

The Angeles home of Don Jose Lazatin, a  well-known businessman and sugar planter was designed by Menem Tayag. The concrete and wood house is furnished with the latest in Puyat Furniture.

The imposing Lopez Mansion, built in the grand Greek revival style, is reputed to be the first all-concrete house in Pampanga. It is constructed with APO Cement and furnished with Puyat Furniture. Owner Don Alejandro Lopez was a successful planter, owner of the Lopez Rice Mill, Co., and the Vice President of Pampanga Sugar Mills Planters Association. Together with his wife, Jacinta Limson and his family, Lopez resided and also held office here.

The home of Don Jose Luciano in Magalang was a favorite party place of the town’s elite, and the Lucianos would often host dinners and balls for Manila’s high society families like the Madrigals.  The beautiful house with a wide porch. was specially designed by Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo,  built with Rizal Cement and furnished with Puyat Furniture.

The beautiful home of lawyer  Don Pedro Morales (b.1886/d.1945) and Magdalena Hizon, was designed by his wife’s cousin, Arch. Fernando H. Ocampo in Mabalacat. A typical 30s house, it was furnished with Puyat Furniture. When the couple perished in he 1945 liberation of Manila, their lone surviving child inherited the house, and moved it to Magalang. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the ancestral Morales house.

The house of Don Teodosio Pecson Santos and Josefa Panlilio was another design of the much-in demand architect, Fernando H. Ocampo, and furnished with the usual Puyat Furniture. Located along A. Consunji Street in Barangay San Jose),  it was purchased by the Miranda family, and is now recognized as one of the capital city’s treasured ancestral houses.

Don Emiliano J. Valdes (b. 1876/d.1953), the generous Kapampangan philanthropist who gave his name as well as financial donation to fund Pampanga’s leading TB hospital in Angeles had his grand residence built along Plaridel St. in the mid 30s. The Valdeses had barely enjoyed their new house when his wife died on 20 September 1936.To make matters worse, his house was taken over by the Japanese during the war and turned into a military headquarters. To forget the sad events that transpired in his Angeles home, he sold the house and lot after the war, and the space has since become a commercial area.

SOURCES:
PAMPANGA SOCIAL REGISTER, 1933
Lubao Commemorative Fiesta Program, 1936
www.viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com, for Emiliano Valdes, Lopez Mansion, Pedro Morales House,