Manila Post Office Building Declared an Important Cultural Property
The Manila Central Post Office Building in Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila was recently declared an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum, joining the list of significant cultural heritage in the country.
The Manila Post Office as seen from Pasig River in Intramuros, Manila
This neo-classical style structure was declared as an ICP on November 23, 2018, led by National Museum’s Assistant Director Angel P. Bautista.
The certificate was presented to the Philippine Postal Corporation, represented by Chairman Normal Fulgencio and Mr. Joel Otarra, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer.
The building also houses a number of P.O. boxes for rental. The service has since stopped but these are still open for viewing inside the historical building
The event also commemorated the ceremonial groundbreaking and exhibit of the Philippine Postal and Philatelic Museum, with the museum housing a historical archive of postage stamps, important letters of national and personalities, and other artifacts.
The Philippine Post Office Building
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has been in the business of linking people across the Philippines and around the world since December 1837. Their main office, the Manila Central Post Office Building in Intramuros, Manila serves as their main mail sorting-distribution operations.
The building is designed to let in natural light highlighting the beautiful interiors of the post office
Built by Filipino architects Juan Marcos Arellano and Tomas Mapua in the 1920s, the building has a neo-classical design that sits just at the edge of Pasig River. It is made up of a rectangular main building adorned with 14 towering columns and flanked by two semicircular blocks.
The building was partially destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945 but was rebuilt five years after–a testament to the building’s strength and grand design.
Also read: A Guide to PHLPost Services
Important Cultural Property of the Philippines
An Important Cultural Property (ICP) is a property that has been found possessing exceptional cultural, artistic, and/or historical significance to the Philippines.
Cultural properties could only be declared by either the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, or the National Museum of the Philippines.
The Manila Post Office is also adorned with a neo-classical design inspired by early European buildings
The title is the second highest recognition that could be given to a cultural property, next to National Cultural Treasures (NCT).
Other ICPs include the Manila Metropolitan Theater, Rizal Shrine, University of Santo Tomas Main Building in Manila, as well as the Guadalupe Church, Bank of the Philippine Islands Building, and San Pedro de Makati Church in Makati.
Also read:
- A haven of knowledge: National Library of the Philippines
- Rizal Shrine, Fort Santiago
- National Museum declares Pagsanjan Arch, Intramuros Monuments as NCTs
Sources: PHLPost, National Museum, National Commission for Culture and the Arts
Images are taken from Wikimedia Commons
