The Philippine Center is an agency of the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Government in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in the United States. The New York City structure houses the Philippine Mission to the United Nations, the Philippine Consulate General, and the overseas offices of the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Tourism. The Philippine Center Management (PCMB) manages the building and its properties. It is committed to "nurture, promote, and propagate Philippine culture, encourage foreign tourists to visit the Philippines, expand foreign markets of Philippine products, and enhance the image of the Philippines."

History

On May 10, 1973, the first Philippine Center was established in New York by the then President Ferdinand Marcos on the Presidential

Decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

No. 188 with the aim of integrating and coordinating activities of the

Philippine government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

offices in the United States. It is located at 556

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, three blocks south of

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...

and north of the

New York Public Library Main Branch The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (commonly known as the Main Branch, the 42nd Street Library, or just the New York Public Library) is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan, Midtown neighborhood ...

Bryant Park Bryant Park is a , privately managed public park in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue) and between 40th Street (Manhattan), 40th and 42 ...

. It was purchased by the

Philippine Government The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional repub ...

from the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

on October 29, 1973. After the purchase, extensive renovations were done and the interior of the building was redesigned. It became famous for "the only building on Fifth Avenue with no windows". The second establishment was placed in San Francisco during 1974, and the third was placed in Sydney, Australia. After Marcos' death in 1989, the Philippine Center continued under the Presidential Decree No. 188. It has become to many Filipinos overseas as an international landmark representing the cultural identity of the Philippines or what some may call, "a home away from home". On September 15, 2005, President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

made a historic

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...

visit to the Philippine Center New York, the first by a ruling Filipino

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

."Visit of Her Excellency President

to Participate in the

2005 World Summit The 2005 World Summit was a United Nations summit held between 14 and 16 September 2005 at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. It was a follow-up summit meeting to the U.N.'s 2000 Millennium Summit (which formulated the Millennium Declara ...

- High Level

plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such a session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions, and is not necessarily r ...

of the 60th Session of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

, New York,

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, 12–15 September 2005", Press Kit, Office of the President, Government Mass Media Group, Bureau of Communications Services,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, September, 2005.

New York structure

During the 1920s to the 1950s, the present edifice was the flagship site of the defunct Schrafft's which was also a chocolate candy company.

Carrere & Hastings Carrère is a French surname coming from Occitan '' Carrera''. It was rendered as Carrere in Mexican Spanish. It may refer to: As a name * Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist * Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art d ...

, the renowned beaux-arts architectural firm originally designed the building for the Knoedler and Company Art Gallery in 1912.

were the architects of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

, and the Frick Mansion. The Philippine Center has seven floors, two mezzanines, and a basement. The ''Kalayaan'' Hall (Freedom Hall), an auditorium which seats one hundred fifty, is the main reception hall. It also houses an Annex room, an art exhibit area (Philippine Center Gallery) located at the lobby. The upper floors are rented by offices belonging to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. Philippine_Center_Gallery.jpg, Philippine Center Gallery Philippine_Center_Kalayaan_Hall.jpg, Philippine Center Kalayaan Hall Philippine_Center_Annex.jpg, Philippine Center Annex

San Francisco structure

The Philippine Center in San Francisco was built in 1911 by architect Fred Meyer. and encompasses a total floor area of . It is composed of two adjoining buildings located on Sutter Street, a block away from the prestigious Union Square and within a mile of San Francisco's financial district. It has 8 floors with a north and south penthouse.

Purpose

The Philippine Center was created to: *consolidate, integrate and coordinate all activities for all Philippine Government offices and agencies internationally during the Marcos era. *nurture, promote and propagate Philippine culture *encourage foreign tourists to visit the Philippines *expand foreign markets of Philippine products *enhance the

image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

of the Philippines *house within its premises all the offices and agencies in New York of the Philippine Government

Philippine Government offices

The following government offices are housed in the New York Philippine Center: *Permanent Mission to the United Nations *Consulate-General in New York *Department of Trade and Industry *Department of Tourism *Social Security Services *Philippine Center Management Board (PCMB) The following government offices are housed in the San Francisco Philippine Center. *Consulate-General in San Francisco *Department of Trade and Industry *Department of Tourism

New York Art Collection

From June 3–15, 2007, the Philippine Consulate-General and the Philippine Center Management Board exhibited the building's

art collection A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, repl ...

for the first time in its 34 years of existence. The collection includes works by National Artists such as Hernando R. Ocampo,

Vicente Manansala Vicente Silva Manansala (January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981) was a Filipino cubist painter and illustrator. One of the first Abstractionists on the Philippine art scene, Manansala is also credited with bridging the gap between the city and ...

, Cesar Legaspi, Arturo Luz,

Ang Kiukok Ang Kiukok (March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005) was a Filipino painter of Chinese descent and was a National Artist for Visual Arts. Early life and training Ang was born on March 1, 1931, in Davao, Davao Province, Philippines to Vicente Ang and C ...

and Jose Joya. The works of Manuel Rodriguez, the Father of Philippine

Printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

, Venancio C. Igarta, Hugo C. Yonzon II,

Malang Malang (; , ), historically known as Tumapel, is an inland List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of the Singhasari, Singhasari K ...

, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belleza,

Eduardo Castrillo Eduardo de los Santos Castrillo (October 31, 1942 – May 18, 2016) was a renowned Filipino sculptor. Early life Eduardo Castrillo, commonly known as 'Ed', was born in Santa Ana, City of Greater Manila (now part of Manila), Philippines, on Oc ...

and Juvenal Sanso were also displayed. The art collecting project of the New York Philippine Center begun since its opening on November 14, 1974. Some art masterpieces were donated by the artists themselves. The public exhibit was officially presented as ''Pamana: Modernong Sining'' (A Heritage of Modern Art), to celebrate the 109th anniversary of the

Philippine Declaration of Independence The Philippine Declaration of Independence (; ) was proclaimed by Filipino revolutionary forces general Emilio Aguinaldo on June 12, 1898, in Cavite el Viejo (present-day Kawit, Cavite), Philippines. It asserted the sovereignty and indepe ...

.Endaya, Imelda Cajipe (artist and independent curator) and Cecilia B. Rebong (Philippine Consul-General). ''"Pamana: Modernong Sining"'' (A Heritage of Modern Art), An Art Exhibit from the Collection of the Philippine Center in New York, Printed Catalogue, The Consulate General of the Philippines, Philippine Center Management Board, and PCGNY.net, June 11, 2007

References

External links

Consulate General of the Philippines, New York
retrieved on: 12 June 2007
Philippine Tourism Office, New York
retrieved on: 12 June 2007

retrieved on: 12 June 2007
Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, New York, PhilChamber.org
retrieved on: 12 June 2007
Philippine Center, San Francisco, California, PhilippineCenterSF.com
retrieved on: 12 June 2007 {{Diplomatic missions in the United States Diplomatic missions of the Philippines Filipino-American culture in New York City

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Philippines–United States relations Fifth Avenue Establishments by Philippine presidential decree