![]() The museum in 2024 | |
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Established | 2017 |
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Coordinates | 14°34′59.9″N120°58′55.9″E / 14.583306°N 120.982194°E |
Type | Natural history museum |
Public transit access | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Website | www |
National Museum of the Philippines | |
Building details | |
Former names |
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General information | |
Status | Open |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
Location | Rizal Park, Ermita |
Address | T.M. Kalaw Street corner General Luna Street |
Town or city | Manila |
Country | Philippines |
Completed | 1941 |
Renovated | 2015-2018 |
Renovation cost | ₱1 billion |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Antonio Toledo |
Renovating team | |
Renovating firm | Dominic Galicia Architects |
Other designers | Tina Periquet (Interior design) |
The National Museum of Natural History (Filipino : Pambansang Museo ng Likas na Kasaysayan) is the national natural history museum of the Philippines. It is located along Agrifina Circle in Rizal Park, Manila. [1]
The building was constructed as the Agriculture and Commerce Building in 1940. It was designed in a neoclassical style by Filipino Architect Antonio Toledo in the late 1930s, having the same dimensions and floor plan as its twin building located at the side of the circle, the Finance Building. Both buildings were destroyed in the Battle of Manila during World War II. Both buildings were reconstructed according to the original plans after the war. [2]
At some point in time, the building was occupied by the Department of Tourism (DOT), hence the building became known as the Department of Tourism Building up until 2015. DOT moved its offices to the nearby city of Makati and is planning to return to Manila after the completion of its proposed headquarters located in Intramuros.
The National Museum Act, which was passed in 1998, [3] mandates the conversion of three civic buildings within Rizal Park, the Legislative Building, the Finance Building, and the Tourism Building, into museums. The Finance Building was the first to be repurposed. In 1998, the building was converted into the National Museum of Anthropology. The Legislative Building was converted into the National Museum of Fine Arts in 2000. [4] The Tourism Building would later become the National Museum of Natural History.
In 2013, preparations were commenced to have the building host the National Museum of Natural History. The administration of President Noynoy Aquino officially launched and backed the formation and establishment of the Museum of Natural History, as well as various regional museums throughout the country. [5] The National Museum of the Philippines invited five architects to submit proposals for the retrofitting and chose the design of the team from Dominic Galicia Architects and interior designer Tina Periquet. Galicia's design involved the maintenance of the building's facade except for the addition of a glass dome supported by a double helix structure inspired by DNA. The dome and supporting structure was dubbed as the "Tree of Life" and will cover the courtyard of the six-storey building. The project, estimated to cost around ₱1 billion, was initially scheduled to be completed in 2015 in time for the 2015 APEC Summit. [6] [7]
A bidding for prospective contractors for the renovation of the building was done in September 2015. [8]
The National Museum of Natural History was officially inaugurated on September 30, 2017. [4] A grand opening for the museum was expected in the later quarter of 2017. [9] The museum opened on May 18, 2018.
Metropolitan Manila, commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region, is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay, the region lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Encompassing an area of 636.00 km2 (245.56 sq mi) and with a population of 13,484,462 as of 2020, it is composed of sixteen highly urbanized cities: the capital city, Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros. As the second most populous and the most densely populated region in the Philippines, it ranks as the 9th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 6th most populous urban area in the world.
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines, after Quezon City. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is classified as a highly urbanized city. As of 2019, it is the world's most densely populated city proper. Manila was the first chartered city in the country, designated by Philippine Commission Act No. 183 on July 31, 1901. It became autonomous with the passage of Republic Act No. 409, "The Revised Charter of the City of Manila", on June 18, 1949. Manila is considered to be part of the world's original set of global cities because its commercial networks were the first to extend across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia with the Spanish Americas through the galleon trade. This marked the first time an uninterrupted chain of trade routes circling the planet had been established.
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of 58 hectares. The site on where the park is situated was originally known as Bagumbayan during the Spanish colonial period. It is adjacent to the historic Walled City of Intramuros.
The Spoliarium is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna, working on canvas, spent eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators. The painting was submitted by Luna to the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884 in Madrid, where it garnered the first gold medal. The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a Roman circus where dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments. Together with other works of the Spanish Academy, the Spoliarium was on exhibit in Rome in April 1884.
The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is a national sports complex of the Philippines, located on Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila. It is named in honor of the country's national hero, José Rizal (1861–1896). The complex is currently managed by the Philippine Sports Commission, while the property is owned by the Manila City government. The complex also houses the administrative office of the PSC, and quarters for the Philippines' national athletes.
The National Museum of Anthropology, formerly known as the Museum of the Filipino People, is a component museum of the National Museum of the Philippines which houses Ethnological and Archaeological exhibitions. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the National Museum of Fine Arts building.
The Rizal Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. It can hold up to 6,100 people.
Pablo Sebero Antonio, Sr. was a Filipino architect. A pioneer of modern Philippine architecture, he was recognized in some quarters as the foremost Filipino modernist architect of his time. The rank and title of National Artist of the Philippines was conferred on him by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1976.
The Manila City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Manila, located in the historic center of Ermita, Manila. It is where the Mayor of Manila holds office and the chambers of the Manila City Council is located. It was originally intended to be a part of a national government center envisioned by Daniel Burnham in the 1900s. Although the dream plan was not fully implemented, some buildings for the proposed government center were constructed, including the Old Legislative Building, and the Agriculture and Finance Buildings.
The Manila Jai Alai Building was a building designed by American architects Welton Becket and Walter Wurdeman that functioned as a building for which jai alai games were held. It was built in the Streamline Moderne style in 1940 and survived the Battle of Manila. It was considered as the finest Art Deco building in Asia, until its demolition. It was demolished in 2000 upon the orders of the Mayor of Manila Lito Atienza amidst protests, to make way for the Manila Hall of Justice, which was never built.
Kalaw Avenue is a short stretch of road in the Ermita district of Manila, Philippines. It forms the southern boundary of Rizal Park running east–west from San Marcelino Street to Roxas Boulevard near the center of the city. It begins as a four-lane road at the intersection with San Marcelino widening to an eight-lane divided roadway along the stretch of Rizal Park from Taft Avenue west to Roxas Boulevard. It has a short extension into the reclaimed area of Luneta and Quirino Grandstand as South Drive. The avenue's main section between Taft Avenue and Roxas Boulevard is assigned as National Route 155 (N155) of the Philippine highway network.
The Independence Flagpole or the Philippine National Flagpole is a 45.72 m (150.0 ft) flagpole located near the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines. It is the highest flagpole in the country.
The Agrifina Circle, officially the Teodoro F. Valencia Circle, is a traffic circle within the eastern portion of Rizal Park in Manila, the Philippines. It has a diameter of 42 meters (138 ft).
The National Planetarium, also known as the National Museum Planetarium, was a planetarium owned and operated by the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. It was a 16-meter (52 ft) dome located in Rizal Park between the Japanese Garden and Chinese Garden on Padre Burgos Avenue in the central district of Ermita. It opened on October 8, 1975.
The Rizal Park Hotel is a 107-room, historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines. The hotel, which opened on 26 July 2017, occupies the Manila Army and Navy Club building following its demolition and redevelopment in 2014 by hotel developer Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corporation. Prior to the building's redevelopment, the building once served as the City Architect's Office and then as the Museo ng Maynila before being abandoned for several years.
Rizal Memorial Library and Museum is a three-story, pre-war, neoclassical heritage site and landmark in Cebu City, Philippines. Dedicated to the national hero, Jose P. Rizal, it was designed by Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano, who also designed the Cebu Provincial Capitol building. Inaugurated in 1939, the building survived World War II. It is located along Osmeña Boulevard and houses the offices of Cebu City Tourism, the Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission, the Sinulog Hall on the third floor, the Cebu City Museum of Visual Arts on the second floor, and the Cebu City Public Library on the ground floor.
The old Philippine National Bank (PNB) Building was a former office building along Escolta Street in Manila, Philippines.
Plaza Olivia Salamanca, also known simply as Plaza Salamanca, is a public square in Ermita, Manila, bounded by Taft Avenue to the east, Teodoro M. Kalaw Avenue to the north and General Luna Street to the west. It is dedicated to Olivia Salamanca, one of the Philippines' first female physicians, with a historical marker dedicated to her being installed in 1955.