The Manila Central Post Office, often called the Post Office Building, is the main postal office of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, which also serves as the home of the

Philippine Postal Corporation The Philippine Postal Corporation ( fil, Korporasyong Pangkoreo ng Pilipinas), abbreviated as PHLPost and also known as the Philippine Post Office, is a government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for providing mail, postal services ...

. It also houses the main mail sorting-distribution operations of the Philippines. It is located along the riverbanks in Lawton,

Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

and lies at the northern end of

Liwasang Bonifacio The Liwasang Bonifacio (''Bonifacio Square''), also known by its former name, Plaza Lawton, is a city square and transport hub in front of the Manila Central Post Office in the Ermita district of Manila, Philippines. It lies at the south end of ...

. Its location along the frontage of the

Pasig River The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its ...

was a part of the Burnham Plan of Manila for easy water transportation of mails. Its central location with converging

avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

s made the building readily accessible from all sides. The building's main entrance faces the

. The original building was designed by

Juan M. Arellano Juan Marcos Arellano y de Guzmán (April 25, 1888 – December 5, 1960), or Juan M. Arellano, was a Filipino architect, best known for Manila's Metropolitan Theater (1935), Legislative Building (1926; now houses the National Museum of Fin ...

and

Tomás Mapúa Don Tomás Bautista Mapúa (December 21, 1888 – December 22, 1965) was a Filipino architect, educator and businessman from the Philippines. He was the founder and first president of the Mapúa Institute of Technology (MIT) together with ...

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

.Philippine Postal Corporation - History
The construction of the building began on 1926 under the supervision of the

architecture firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

of Pedro Siochi and Company. However, it was severely damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

during the Battle of Manila and was subsequently rebuilt in 1946 while retaining most of its original design.

History

This official transmitter of mail, money and goods traces its beginnings to Act No. 462 of the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Preside ...

on September 15, 1902, creating the Bureau of Posts. Postal service in the country, albeit crude and slow, began during the Spanish period with horse-riding couriers until it reached the marked improvements which the Americans initiated. The present building hums daily with brisk postal service with letters pouring in daily from every corner of the country. Now under the direct supervision of the Office of the President, the principal postal hub of today's Philippine Postal Corporation houses a modern and efficient look with its mechanized automatic letter-sorting machine, new Postal Code system, airmail, motorized letter carriers and all other new facilities. Even as more modern ways of communication are widespread, PHLPost and the MCPO still continue a centuries-old tradition of sorting and distributing letters from Filipinos who still prefer the postal service.

Architecture

The Manila Post Office was strategically located by Daniel Burnham at the foot of

Jones Bridge The William A. Jones Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Jones Bridge, is an arched girder bridge that spans the Pasig River in the City of Manila, Philippines. It is named after the United States legislator William Atkinson Jones, who serv ...

because of two reasons. First was that the Pasig River could be used conveniently as an easy route for delivering mail and secondly, the post office could be accessible from all sides including Quiapo,

Binondo Binondo () is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the ...

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms ...

, and Ermita. Considered to be Juan Arellano's magnum opus, it was designed in the neoclassical style that expressed order and balance. It was built in 1926 and was worth one million pesos. Fronting the huge, rectangular volume are the 16 Ionic pillars lined that are lined up above the steps just before entering the lobby. The main body of the building is capped by a recessed rectangular attic storey and flanked and buttressed by two semi-circular wings. Inside, the main lobby has subsidiary halls at each end housed under the semi-circular spaces roofed with domes. The plans on completing the post office building was made public on November 28, 1927, but the awarding of the project happened a year after in 1928. From August 2, 1920, up to January 9, 1922, the foundation was laid out. The work was put on hold because of the scarcity of funds but was reported to be 56% complete towards the end of the year. The completion of the building was continued in February 1928. Proposals for the completion of the Manila Post Office Building were made known on November 28, 1927, but the awarding of the project was made only in 1928.

Gallery

File:Damage to the Manila Post Office 1945.jpg, The Manila Central Post Office during

. (1945) File:Post Office Building.JPG, View of the Post Office from

File:Jonesb3jf.JPG, View of the Post Office from

File:Post Office Building (Padre Burgos, Manila; 02-10-2022).jpg, Aerial shot of the Post Office File:Mail_Sample_(back_to_back).jpg, Mail envelope certified by PHLPost

References

External links

Philippine Postal CorporationTrivia about the Postman Statue of the Philippine Postal Service
{{coord, 14.5955, 120.9791, display=title Post office buildings Buildings and structures in Ermita Government buildings in the Philippines Postal system of the Philippines Neoclassical architecture in the Philippines Buildings and structures completed in 1926 Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Juan M. Arellano buildings National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Reportedly haunted locations in the Philippines