The Manila Central Post Office, often called the Post Office Building, is the main postal office of Manila, which also serves as the home of the Philippine Postal Corporation. It also houses the main mail sorting-distribution operations of the Philippines. It is located along the riverbanks in Lawton, Ermita and lies at the northern end of Liwasang Bonifacio. Its location along the frontage of the Pasig River was a part of the

Burnham Burnham may refer to: Places Canada *Burnham, Saskatchewan England *Burnham, Buckinghamshire ** Burnham railway station ** Burnham Grammar School *Burnham Green, Hertfordshire, location of The White Horse * Burnham, Lincolnshire **High Burnham, ...

Plan of Manila for easy water transportation of mails. Its central location with converging

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

s made the building readily accessible from all sides. The building's main entrance faces the Liwasang Bonifacio. The original building was designed by Juan M. Arellano and Tomás Mapúa in neoclassical style.Philippine Postal Corporation - History
The construction of the building began on 1926 under the supervision of the architecture firm of Pedro Siochi and Company. However, it was severely damaged in World War II during the Battle of Manila and was subsequently rebuilt in 1946 while retaining most of its original design.

History

This official transmitter of mail, money and goods traces its beginnings to Act No. 462 of the Philippine Commission on September 15, 1902, creating the Bureau of Posts. Postal service in the country, albeit crude and slow, began during the Spanish period with horse-riding couriers until it reached the marked improvements which the Americans initiated. The present building hums daily with brisk postal service with letters pouring in daily from every corner of the country. Now under the direct supervision of the Office of the President, the principal postal hub of today's Philippine Postal Corporation houses a modern and efficient look with its mechanized automatic letter-sorting machine, new Postal Code system, airmail, motorized letter carriers and all other new facilities. Even as more modern ways of communication are widespread, PHLPost and the MCPO still continue a centuries-old tradition of sorting and distributing letters from Filipinos who still prefer the postal service.

Architecture

The Manila Post Office was strategically located by Daniel Burnham at the foot of

Jones Bridge The William A. Jones Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Jones Bridge, is an arched girder bridge that spans the Pasig River in the City of Manila, Philippines. It is named after the United States legislator William Atkinson Jones, who serv ...

because of two reasons. First was that the Pasig River could be used conveniently as an easy route for delivering mail and secondly, the post office could be accessible from all sides including Quiapo,

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

, Malate, and Ermita. Considered to be Juan Arellano's magnum opus, it was designed in the neoclassical style that expressed order and balance. It was built in 1926 and was worth one million pesos. Fronting the huge, rectangular volume are the 16 Ionic pillars lined that are lined up above the steps just before entering the lobby. The main body of the building is capped by a recessed rectangular attic storey and flanked and buttressed by two semi-circular wings. Inside, the main lobby has subsidiary halls at each end housed under the semi-circular spaces roofed with domes. The plans on completing the post office building was made public on November 28, 1927, but the awarding of the project happened a year after in 1928. From August 2, 1920, up to January 9, 1922, the foundation was laid out. The work was put on hold because of the scarcity of funds but was reported to be 56% complete towards the end of the year. The completion of the building was continued in February 1928. Proposals for the completion of the Manila Post Office Building were made known on November 28, 1927, but the awarding of the project was made only in 1928.

Gallery

File:Damage to the Manila Post Office 1945.jpg, The Manila Central Post Office during World War II. (1945) File:Post Office Building.JPG, View of the Post Office from Pasig River File:Jonesb3jf.JPG, View of the Post Office from

File:Post Office Building (Padre Burgos, Manila; 02-10-2022).jpg, Aerial shot of the Post Office File:Mail_Sample_(back_to_back).jpg, Mail envelope certified by PHLPost

References

External links

Philippine Postal CorporationTrivia about the Postman Statue of the Philippine Postal Service
{{coord, 14.5955, 120.9791, display=title Post office buildings Buildings and structures in Ermita Government buildings in the Philippines Postal system of the Philippines Neoclassical architecture in the Philippines Buildings and structures completed in 1926 Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Juan M. Arellano buildings National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Reportedly haunted locations in the Philippines