Dagupan City Walking Tour
Dagupan City is replete with events of historical
significance and rich cultural heritage making the city a topnotch destination
for that glimpse of the illustrious past and a look back into Dagupan’s history.
Gabaldon Building
Every
town in the country that existed as of 1889 has a schoolhouse known as Gabaldon
building, named after Isauro Gabaldon,
an assemblyman who authored Act No. 1801 or Gabaldon Act which appropriated Php
1 million between the years 1907 to 1915 for the "construction of
schoolhouses of strong materials in barrios with guaranteed daily attendance of
not less than sixty pupils.”
The
Gabaldon building which is the central edifice of the West Central Elementary
School is now 102 years old. Constructed in 1909, it is the oldest school house
in the city. It also has a historical significance as it served as the
Provincial Capitol of Pangasinan from 1942 up to 1945. It was here where the
war time governor, Santiago V. Estrada, Sr. and his provincial board members,
held office for the duration of the Pacific war.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s
Headquarters
The
Gabaldon building also became the headquarters of the United States of America’s
South Pacific Area Command during the end of the Second World War. North to the main Gabaldon building of the West
Central Elementary School is the Home Economics building which served as Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Headquarters. It is where the general put
up the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) shortly after the first combat troops
of the sixth army of the United States of America under his command landed on January
9, 1945 in Bonuan Blue Beach (the biggest MacArthur
Landing Site Marker was erected and eventually unveiled in January 23, 1984
to mark the landing site).
The
general’s bath tub can still be found in the building which served as the
general’s headquarters. A marker in front of the building states: “On this site, the West Central Elementary
School I, Home Economics Building, Dagupan City was used by Gen. Douglas
MacArthur as his official headquarters after his landing in Lingayen beach on 9
January 1945 to liberate the island of Luzon thus fulfilling his promise to the
Filipino people “I Shall Return.”
City Plaza
At
the east of the school is the City Plaza.
In the 1990s, the plaza also served as the market at the same time. It is where
Dagupan’s first election via viva voce
was conducted with Juan Villamil becoming the first elective municipal
president during the American regime. He served for two terms from 1902 to
1905. He is famous for the Pangasinan translation of Jose Rizal's Mi Ultimo
Adios which was inscribed in bronze and now on display at the Rizal monument in
Luneta. The plaza became a temporary market site again after the July 16, 1990
earthquake. Remnants of the original City Plaza gate can still be seen at the
western side.
Today,
the City Plaza houses the City Museum, the Children’s Park, the Senior
Citizens’ Park and the amphitheater. The City Plaza is an ideal venue for various events, cultural shows and
gatherings. The amphitheater ground is a 200-capacity car park, events venue, skating
rink, biking ground rolled into one. Its stage is a large mural by local artist
F.M. Baniqued depicting the Dagupan City of yesteryears.
It
is in the Senior Citizen’s Park
which is on its left side of the plaza where the Jose Rizal monument can be found. The Children’s Park located at the right side of the plaza, features
slides and swings for the children. It is also the site of the monument of Andres Bonifacio and other national
heroes.
Ferrocarrile de Manila –
Dagupan Train No. 17
You
can see in the City Plaza one of the oldest trains which traversed the
195-kilometer long railroad track from Manila to Dagupan City. The locomotive
engine Number 17 was believed to be the safest mode of transportation during
the late 1800s. According to some old folks of the community, this was also the
same train used by Dr. Jose P. Rizal during his visit to Leonor Rivera here in
Dagupan City. The Ferrocarrile de Manila
– Dagupan opened its services on November 24, 1892 and was latterly known
as the Manila Railway Company or MRC.
Museo na Dagupan
Capturing
Dagupan's colorful heritage is the Museo
na Dagupan (City Museum), which shelters old photographs, artifacts and
antique household items originally owned by famed Dagupeno clans. In the Edades
Hall, paintings of native contemporary artists and the masterpieces of National
Artist Victorio Edades are showcased. Dagupan City is one of the few places to
have two national artists. The other Dagupeño national artist is Salvador
Bernal (for theatrical design).
Old Dagupan City Cathedral
In
Zamora Street, south of the City Plaza you will see a majestic restoration of
the Old Dagupan City Cathedral. The
restoration was spearheaded by Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D., J.C.D., former
Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan with the help of several civic-religious
groups and local and foreign philanthropists of Dagupan City. The architectural
design of the confessional box, the 14 Stations of the Cross and the main altar
in the Old Dagupan City Cathedral will surely fascinate you. The intricate wood
carvings of the altar, the four Evangelists which serve as the foundation of
the altar, are sights to behold. Its architecture, furniture and landscaping
truly encourages parishioners as well as local and foreign guests to an
ambiance full of religion and history.
The
Old Cathedral takes us back during the Spanish era. During the Andres Malong
uprising in 1660, the rebels razed Dagupan after it refused to join the
rebellion. The church, one of the finest administered by the Dominicans in the
province, was not spared. According to the Dominican chronicler Fr. Valentin
Marin y Morales, another stone church was built on the same spot in 1816.
However, an earlier account by Fr. Manuel Mora, who visited Dagupan in 1804,
cites an old stone structure. Fr. Pablo Fernandez, O.P. (1958) believes that
the 19th century structure must have been built on the frame of the 17th
century building destroyed during the rebellion. This theory was reinforced by
the discovery of ashes and burnt lumber during an excavation in the church site
in 1995. During the great earthquake of 1892, the church collapsed, later to be
replaced with another edifice by Fr. Vicente Iztegui in 1895.
Towards
the close of the Katipunan revolution, the Spanish authorities of Pangasinan
abandoned Lingayen and moved to Dagupan. The provincial government was housed
at the Dagupan convent. All the Spanish friars in Pangasinan abandoned their
posts in the various towns and sought the safety of the Dagupan convent. The
old cathedral was the site were Katipuneros won the final battle against the
Spaniards within the church grounds on July 21, 1898. With the Spanish
surrender, Spanish rule in Pangasinan ended once and for all. Meanwhile, the church’s
bell tower was reconstructed intermittently from 1903 to 1914.
It
is also before the cathedral’s altar that the legendary Leonor Rivera, Dr. Jose
Rizal's lost love, tied the knot with Henry Kipping, a British engineer who set
up the first railway system from Manila to Dagupan- the Ferrocarrile de Manila – Dagupan. It’s been said that this broke
our national hero’s heart. The marriage artifact can still be found at the
Archbishop’s Palace archives.
St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan
Cathedral
In
the afternoon of May 31, 1964, the corner stone of the future Saint John
Metropolitan Cathedral was laid on a spot at the back of the old church of
Dagupan. The hewn stone contained in its recesses a small metal box chronicling
major events that had transpired that day - a compilation of testimonials
written by religious and civil authorities of the city, a piece of parchment on
which were etched the names of sponsors of the cornerstone-laying, a copy of a
local newspaper, official diocesan and parish documentation of the event, and
Philippine coins marked "1964." The cornerstone was laid in simple
rites presided over by Archbishop Mariano Madriaga and assisted by Monsignor
Evaristo Soriano, curate of the Parish of Saint John, Dagupan City.
The
church was meant to replace the old church which had been damaged by past
earthquakes. Construction ceased in 1966 because of lack of funds. This resumed
three years later as new contributions poured in due to the efforts of the project's
chief architect and most ardent implementor, Archbishop Madriaga, as well as
that of Msgr. Soriano and his successor, Msgr. Leon Bitanga. Archbishop
Federico G. Limon took up the endeavor with the same enthusiasm in 1972 until
the church was finally inaugurated on the feast of Saint John in 1974.
Today,
the restored church is called the Cathedral
of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan while the new church beside it is
known as the Saint John the Evangelist
Metropolitan Cathedral (formerly known
as St. John the Evangelist Parish Church) which recently was renovated by new
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.
Dagupan City Hall
The
City Hall was once known as the Presidencia building or municipal building. It
was built during the term of Guillermo De Venecia who was on his second term as
Municipal President (equivalent to Mayor). It was inaugurated in 1926, and
today it still serves as the city hall. The full membership of the municipal
board, which assisted him in building the presidencia included: Felix Calimlim,
Numeriano Tanopo, Jose Penoy, Teofilo P. Guadiz, Lamberto Siquion-Reyna,
Gualberto de Venecia, Pascual Lozano, Toribio Guardiana, Roman Villamil, Jose
Jovellanos, Procesco Bautista, Martin Mejia, Felipe Bravo, Santiago Pastoral,
with Federico Estrada as municipal board secretary. Guillermo De Venecia is the
grandfather of former Congressman Jose de Venecia, Jr. Today, the City Hall
Complex houses various departments of the city government.
Old Water Tower
Remnants
of the past can still be found in the heart of the city. Such is the Water Tower at the back of the City
Hall which once provided the city’s
water needs. As municipal president from 1931-1934, Jose Fernandez Llamas left
as a memorial of his administration, the water tank behind the city hall
building. He also constructed the original kiosk in the plaza which has been
demolished in later years to give way to improvements.
so happy to hear we have old relics and infrastructure like that. as Dagupenos, we have the responsibility to take care of them and restore them for the next generations of Dagupenos. :)
ReplyDeletewould be great if you could have this as a guided walking tour. the city would truly benefit from such an effort.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I will definitely walk and shoot places in Dagupan :)and learn Dagupan history :)
ReplyDelete