Heritage Structures in Cagayan de Oro

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Heritage Structures in
Cagayan de Oro
Religious and Non-Religious, Post-Spanish to Contemporary
By Antonio J. Montalvan II

St. Augustine Cathedral
Location	Gaston Park
Period or style	Gothic and Semi-Gothic
Year erected	1946 (Post World War II)
Comment The original structure was built in 1845 by Fray Simon Loscos de Santa Catalina, an Augustinian Recollect missionary, along the Gothic style. Its walls and buttresses were made out of coral stones imported from China. Some of these stones are still embedded inside the present concrete walls, and some of it were exposed and demolished when the sanctuary was recently renovated. The original structure was destroyed by the bombardment of Cagayan during World War II. Archbishop James Hayes SJ built the present structure. Inside the Cathedral are rare priceless stained glass windows that came from the chapel of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of New York and are the works of well-known masters. Just outside the porte-cochere façade is a wooden Santa Cruz erected in 1888 by the Augustinian Recollect missionaries. The old belfry was located on the left side and beneath it was the grave of another Spanish Recollect missionary, Fray Ramon Zueco de San Joaquin, who died in Cagayan in 1889.

Old sugar mill
Location	Capistrano Complex, Gusa
Period or style	Spanish colonial
Year erected	Late 19th C.
Comment Knowing that this old mill was owned by the Capistrano family, we can probably surmise that it was built sometime before or after the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, since that was the time that Nicolas Capistrano and his wife migrated to Cagayan from Manila.

Casa del Chino Ygua
Location	Corner of Velez and Hayes Streets
Period or style	Spanish colonial
Year erected	1882
Comment The original structure was built out of bricks transported from China aboard Chinese junks. During the travel, the bricks served as ballast for the junk, which reportedly landed along the banks of the Cagayan River to unload its cargo. The house was recently renovated, albeit badly and far from the standards of historical preservation. New bricks, probably made in Bulua, were used to cover the old Chinese bricks. The resulting structure seems undecided between being colonial or modern.

Trinitas Roa Reyes Ancestral House
Location	Burgos St.
Period or style	Spanish colonial
Year erected	1800s
Comment This is a very historic house. It was the residence of Jose Reyes y Barrientos who was a member of the Philippine Independence Mission to the US in 1919 and who was earlier Misamis governor in 1913. In the 1930s, his wife Trinitas Roa Reyes had the house rented to Bishop James Hayes after his appointment as first Bishop of Cagayan. And so the house became a temporary Bishop's Palace. Hayes installed quilted canvas on the ceilings. Today, the house is in a dilapidated state. Still to be found are hardwood round timber posts topped by exposed beams with intricate carvings.

Archbishop's Palace
Location	Gaston Park
Period or style	Pre-World War II
Year erected	1934-35
Comment

Executive House, City Hall Complex

Location

City Hall Complex

Period or style

American Colonial 1940

Year erected

Pre-World War II

Comment

Inaugurated on August 26, 1940 as the new Municipal Hall of Cagayan town and became the City Hall of the new Cagayan de Oro City in 1950. The building survived World War II. Recently renovated, the new architect tried to retain some of its colonial lines by installing new dentils and dentil bands beneath the media-agua. However, the old capiz windows were removed and replaced with modern French windows that seem incongruous with the architectural style. Moreover, some lovely vaulted alcoves inside are now covered beneath new plywood walls. Over-all, historical preservation was deficient, not to mention the new paint hues which are too loud for the structure's style.

The author with the historical marker of the Executive House of the City Hall

Water Tower
Location	Gaston Park
Period or style	American Colonial
Year erected	1926
Comment

San Jose de Mindanao Seminary
Location	Seminary Hill, Camaman-an
Period or style	Post World War II
Year erected	1956
Comment Probably the most massive religious architecture in Cagayan de Oro, the design of this building was patterned entirely after the Jesuit Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, Manila, from wingtip to wingtip.

Trinidad Gate
Location	Velez Street
Period or style	American Colonial
Year erected	1936
Comment

Misamis Oriental Provincial Capitol
Location	Capitol Complex
Period or style	American Colonial
Year erected	1948-50
Comment

Moreno-Valmores House
Location	Corner of Aguinaldo and Yacapin Streets
Period or style	Post-Spanish
Year erected	Unknown
Comment

Gabar House
Location	Corner of Toribio Chaves and Pabayo Streets
Period or style	Post-Spanish
Year erected	Unknown
Comment: See Wikimapia.

Tamparong Building (Pilipinas Bank)
Location	Plaza Divisoria (Corner of Velez and Tirso Neri Streets
Period or style	Art Nouveau-Contemporary
Year erected	Pre-World War II
Comment

Loudes College Main Building
Location	Corner of Capistrano and Hayes Streets
Period or style	American Colonial (?)
Year erected
Comment

Loyola House
Location	Xavier University Campus
Period or style	Contemporary
Year erected	1950s
Comment

MOGCHS Building
Location	Velez Street
Period or style	American Colonial
Year erected	1909
Comment Inaugurated as the Escuela Provincial on Dec. 15, 1909 by American Governor General William Cameron Forbes and House Speaker Sergio Osmena. Forbes provided the funds for its construction while the Cagayan citizens raised P9,000 as a local counterpart.

Acero House
Location	Capistrano Street (beside Cosmopolitan Funeral Home)
Period or style	American Colonial
Year erected	Unknown
Comment Recently renovated along lines faithful to its original design. This house figured during World War II when it was said to have been occupied by Japanese troops.

See Heritage Structure in Misamis Oriental

Antonio J. Montalvan II made this list when he was still a member of the Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission. The original document does not contain photos. | Published by the Heritage Conservation Advocates, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, January 10, 2006.

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