Quezon Memorial Circle

The Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park and shrine located in Quezon City, former capital of the Philippines (1948-1976). The park is an ellipse bounded by the Elliptical Road. At its center is a mausoleum containing the remains of Manuel L. Quezon, the second President of the Philippines, and his wife, First Lady Aurora Quezon.

History

The site was originally intended as the grounds of the National Capitol to be built in Quezon City. While the cornerstone for the structure was laid in 1940, only the foundations were in place when construction was interrupted by the beginning of the Second World War in the Philippines. After World War II, President Sergio Osmeña issued an executive order stipulating the creation of a Quezon Memorial Committee to raise funds by public subscription to erect a monument to his predecessor, President Manuel Luis Quezon. After a national contest was held for the purpose, a winning design by Filipino architect Federico Ilustre was selected.

Description

The monument would consist of three vertical pylons (representing the three main geographic divisions of the country: Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao), 66 meters (217 ft) tall (Quezon's age when he died), surmounted by three mourning angels holding sampaguita (the national flower) wreaths sculpted by the Italian sculptor Monti. The three pylons would in turn circumscribe a drum-like two-story structure containing a gallery from which visitors could look down at Quezon's catafalque, modeled after Napoleon Bonaparte's in the Invalides. The gallery and the catafalque below are lit by an oculus, in turn reminiscent of Grant's Tomb.

Construction

Construction of the Quezon Memorial was begun in the late 1950s but proceeded slowly, in part due to the cost of importing Carrara marble, brought in blocks and then carved and shaped on-site. There were also problems associated with the theft of the marble blocks and the management of memorial funds. It was finally completed in 1978, the centennial of Quezon's birth. His remains were reinterred in the memorial on August 19, 1979. It was during that time that by virtue of a presidential decree, President Ferdinand E. Marcos mandated the site as a National Shrine. The National Historical Institute manages, and has authority, over the monument itself, while the Quezon City government administers the park.

On April 28, 2005, the remains of Mrs. Aurora Quezon, widow of the president, were solemnly reinterred in the memorial as well.

Other structures

Planned auxiliary structures, including a presidential library, museum, and theater, were never built (two smaller museums, one containing the presidential memorabilia of Quezon, and the other containing items on the history of Quezon City, were installed within the monument itself). In the 1980s, missing, lost, or uncomplete bas reliefs for the outside of the memorial were installed. A development plan was also drawn up and partially implemented, including the building of recreation and dining structures.