The "Marble Palace" Ayuntamiento

Isa sa mga pinakabagong atraksyon na makikita ngaun sa loob ng Intramuros ay ang Ayuntamiento o mas kilala dati bilang Casas Consitoriales o Cabildo o maaaring din sabihin nating Marble Palace.

Anu nga ba ang kasaysayan ng Ayuntamiento? Sino ang gumawa, kailan at paano ito napatayo?

Ayon sa Intramuros Administration Site; Ayuntamiento Aka Casas Consitoriales or Cabildo, the building was roughly equivalent to city hall. Its northern wing housed the cabildo or city council composed of alcalde and the regidores (mayor and councilor). It also had other offices including that of the governor general. A jail was part of the structure.

Although Legazpi had mapped out a site for the casas consistoriales no structure was built until the incumbency of Gov. Gen. Francisco Tello, who begun construction around 1599. In Antonio de Morga’s Sucesos de las islas Filipinas (1607) the building is described as made of cut stones, monumental and pleasing. The first floor housed the courts and jail; the second the administrative offices, a chapel, and archives. The building, probably just a single wing, may have been damaged by the earthquakes of 1645 and 1658 because a document of 1684 requests for funds to rebuild. Meanwhile, the city council met in a house rented from the Jesuits’ Colegio de Manila.

On 31 January 1735, the corner stone for a second building was laid. Completed in 1738, this building survived well into the 19th century when the 3 June 1863 earthquake damaged it heavily. This 18th century building is documented by a painting by Karuth, an engraving, an elevation plan, and a photograph of it in ruins. The second Ayuntamiento had a central clock tower above its façade and two symmeterical wings. Bulbous wrought iron balconies decorated the second story and a covered arcade characterized the first floor.

Narito ang aking unang blog post sa Ayuntamiento, makikita ninyo dito ang pagbabago ng gusaling ito.


Narito ang ilan sa mga kuhang larawan sa loob mismo ng Ayuntamiento.

Narito ang loob ng tinatawag nila "Home of the first Congress" noon.

Summary list

• The Philippine's most historic civic building.
• The 1st City Hall of Manila
• Office of the Governor General
• Home of the first Congress, first Senate and first Supreme Court
• Ancestral home of the CSC,DOTC,DepEd,DOF,DOJ,DOH, etc.
• Spain's grandest architectural legacy to the Filipino people.

Ako'y nagpapasalamat kay Sir Rence Chan para sa isang exclusive access dito sa loob ng Ayuntamiento.

Kung gusto ninyo rin makapasok sa loob at maramdaman ang saya at malapalasyong lugar na ito, maaari ninyo icontact si Sir Rence Chan para sa ibang detalye.

Kung gusto ninyo pa makita ang ilan sa mga silid at larawan ng Ayuntamiento, pumunta lamang sa

The "Marble Palace" Ayuntamiento at The renovated Ayuntamiento Tour

So paano hanggang sa susunod na lamang ulit, sama kasama kita dito sa Marable Palace sa susunod na tour.