The Heritage of Cebu Bank of the Philippine Islands’ New Museum
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The Heritage of Cebu Bank of the Philippine Islands’ New Museum An old cash register. The Bank of the Philippine Islands – Cebu Main Branch located at Magallanes Street just within Plaza Sugbo will soon be home to a museum featuring some of the bank’s old fixtures. Actually the bank building is a museum in itself having been built in the 1940s following the design of US- trained architect Juan M. Arellano. It’s worth mentioning that among Arellano’s masterpieces include the Cebu Provincial Capitol, the Manila Metropolitan Theater, the Manila Central Post Office, and the former Legislative Building which now houses the National Museum of the Philippines. Vintage typewriters. A weighing scale for letters. Just last week, a national historical marker was unveiled for this building which was attended by no less than the chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Dr. Ambeth Ocampo. The bank building itself has been a national historical landmark since September 1991. The museum will occupy a certain portion of the bank premises separated by a glass curtain so as to allow the bank to continue to operate normally. A view of the building from across Plaza Sugbo. Among the displays that will soon await the public are some vintage typewriters, a vintage cash register, some circa-1930s electric fans manufactured by General Electric, and vintage photographs of the bank building. Perhaps the most interesting part of the display would be the bank’s old vault. This would probably be the first time that the general public would be given a glimpse of how a vault really looks like and how it works. The entire vault itself is made of thick solid-poured concrete which effectively makes it bomb-proof. The door to the vault features locking mechanisms that one perhaps have only seen in Hollywood movies! Inside this vault is a small movable metal vault which was manufactured in 1895. It contains historically interesting documents that date to World War II. The bank’s old vault which dates back to the 1940s. A movable vault manufactured in 1895 which contains historically interesting documents. After having been declared as a national historical landmark in 1991 and with the unveiling of a national historical marker last December 2, 2010 and the opening of a soon-to-be museum, the Bank of the Philippine Islands – Cebu Main Branch has contributed to the historical landscape of Plaza Sugbo. Just within the plaza is the Magellan’s Cross, the Cebu City Hall, and the ever popular Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño. A few walks away are commercial buildings that were built during the American-colonial era. Walk Magallanes Street straight to the east and you’ll find yourself in historic Plaza Independencia, Fort San Pedro, and Malacañan sa Sugbo. Hopefully, developments like this would not be the last. Cheers for Cebu heritage and the revitalization of downtown Cebu City! Ref.: http://cebuheritage.com/2010/12/10/bpis-new- museum/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHeritageO fCebu+%28The+Heritage+of+Cebu%29 .