Venturing Hidalgo

Bahay Nakpil

San Sebastian Church

As an Architecture student we are required to visit lots of historical sights as it is important for most of all our subjects pertaining to designs, forms, history, concepts, colors and all the other architectural stuffs existing.
Hidalgo is a part of Quiapo in Manila where most of the country's history took place. Along Hidalgo you can still see some of the vernacular houses there that was built 17th century and is still preserved by the owners that took credit by it, good thing for them, government doesn't even care about the preservation of the country's history (as I've observed) with all the modernity and technology today, lots of new buildings have been erected nearby and is deforming its historical image specially along 'Bahay Nakpil' or Nakpil Bautista's house. Bahay Nakpil was the home for all the Katipuneros/Heroes during the 1896 Revolution.
The reason that it's still standing today was because of the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation Inc. who took charge in caring and preserving the place, they wanted to fix and renovate/maintain its original architecture design which is Art Noveau.
Moving along the outskirts of Hidalgo at the end of the street is the San Sebastian Church, a Gothic-style architecture and is the only all-steel church in Asia, claimed as the only prefab steel church in the world. The materials used for the construction was manufactured from Belgium, while Gustave Eiffel - French engineer of Eiffel Tower in France and Statue of Liberty in New York; was involved in the design and construction of San Sebastian Church. (Lovely huh?)
You'd be more amazed if you visited the site yourself.
Please let us be more concern in the preservation of our historical surroundings as future generations can still enjoy and know more about it.