The University of the Philippines Visayas Main Building, also sometimes referred to as the Old Iloilo City Hall,
is a historic building in
Iloilo City
Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on t ...
which currently serves as the primary building of the Iloilo City campus of the
University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas. It was previously used as the city hall for Iloilo City.
History
Construction of the UP Visayas Main Building began in February 1931 and was used to host the Iloilo City Hall as early as 1935.
It was inaugurated in December 1936.
The building stands in a lot which was donated to the local government of Iloilo City. During the
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, Japanese soldiers occupied the building in 1942 and made it as their garrison.
The Japanese occupied the building until 1945.
[
In 1945, while the war was still ongoing Iloilo City Council passed Resolution No. 485 which concerns the establishment of a junior college for the University of the Philippines Iloilo. The city council approved the Resolution No. 461 after the war, donating the old city hall to the UP Iloilo College which opened in July 1947.]Fernando Lopez
Fernando Hofileña Lopez Sr. (April 13, 1904May 26, 1993) was a Filipino statesman. A member of the influential Lopez family of Iloilo, he served as vice president of the Philippines for three terms – under Elpidio Quirino (1949–1 ...
and it was repaired in 1950 through the efforts of the Philippine War Damage Commission.[
In the 2010s, the building underwent a renovation after the National Historical Commission of the Philippines provided a grant of in 2017 following the lobbying of Senator Franklin Drilon and Antique Representative ]Loren Legarda
Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippine ...
.
Architecture and design
Filipino architect Juan Arellano
Juan Marcos Arellano y de Guzmán (April 25, 1888 – December 5, 1960), or Juan M. Arellano, was a Filipino architect, best known for Manila's Metropolitan Theater (1935), Legislative Building (1926; now houses the National Museum of F ...
designed the UP Visayas Main Building for . The building was made in the neo-classical design.
Tenants
The building briefly served as the Iloilo City Hall and later a garrison of soldiers of Imperial Japan during the World War II era. As of 2019, the building hosts the office of the Center for West Visayan Studies as well as an art gallery.
See also
*Iloilo City Hall
The Iloilo City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Iloilo, Philippines, located in Plaza Libertad, Iloilo City Proper. It is where the Mayor of Iloilo City holds office and the chambers of the Iloilo City Council. It also hos ...
*Philippines National Historical Landmarks Philippines National Historic Landmarks is a registry of historic sites in the Philippines that have been officially declared by the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property.
There appear to be about 120 of them, as of August 2018.ThPRCP's "blogsp ...
References
{{coord missing, Philippines
Neoclassical architecture in the Philippines
Juan M. Arellano buildings
Buildings and structures in Iloilo City