I Remember the Ugliness of the Old Dumaguete Presidencia

Sometimes I cannot believe the Dumaguete Presidencia used to look like this, and just only a few years ago, before it was finally restored beginning in 2018. The original 1937 design by the great architect Juan Arellano totally disappeared over the ensuing decades with ugly additions and renovations. And what is the plaza now used to be a parking lot, often with dump trucks right in the middle of everything. Growing up in Dumaguete, I used to bewail how ugly our City Hall was, and I had no idea that beneath all that ugliness was an old gem waiting to be restored. Today, it is the National Museum of the Philippines Dumaguete. [Photo from DumagueteInfo Net Service]