20. THE HERITAGE DISTRICT OF ANGELES

Stroll around the heart of Angeles, a city that grew out of a town called Culiat, and see some of interesting heritage houses and buildings still lining its major streets.

DE MIRANDA HOUSE

The Founders of Angeles--Angel Pantaleon de Miranda and Rosalia de Jesus—built their house along Sto. Rosario St. in 1824, from materials salvaged from their original 1811 house in barrio Cutcut. It was inherited by daughter Juana de Miranda (married to Mariano Vicente Henson) , and later by Don Mariano Vicente Henson. Upon Mariano’s death in 1917, it was successively passed on to son and heir Pedro Henson then to his son Vicente Henson, who in turn passed it on to daughter Rosalie Henson.

THE PAMINTUAN MANSION 

In Barangay Sto. Rosario, one can still see the restored grandeur of this mansion built by Don Mariano Pamintuan and Dna. Valentina Torres in 1890 as a wedding gift to their unico hijo. Florentino Pamintuan. On the 1st anniversary of the Philippine independence (12 June 1899), Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo watched from the window of this house a parade of revolutionists led by gen. Gregorio del Pilar and Gen. Luciano San Miguel. Gen. Arthur MaCarthur also stayed in this house during the American Occupation of the town in 1901. In 1942, Japanese imperial officers also took residence in this house. The Tablante Family bought the house in 1959 from the heirs and leased it as an annex to the nearby City Hall. In 1981, the crumbling mansion was donated to the Central Bank as a regional clearing house and subsequently restored under then CB Governor Jaime Laya.

THE DEPOSITO

This structure—which was meant to be a used as a storage and parking house for carrozas and processional santos, was built in 1899 by Jose Pedro Henson. It served as a jail for errant American soldiers during the Philippine-American War. After the last war, it was rented to the U.S. Army 11th Film Exchange. Once again, it was used as a jail by the U.S. military police and 13th U.S. Air Force at various times, from 1947 to 1965. It was converted into the city’s post office building frm 1967-1978 and today it houses a Physical Therapy Clinic.

MARIANO LACSON MANSION

This 1930s concrete building with its expansive lot still stands at Brgy. Sto. Cristo. It was occupied by the USO, an agency of the Ameircan military in the 1950s and most recently was used as the site of the first OB Montessori Pre-School in Angeles—whose most famous alumni is international Broadway star, Lea Salonga.

ONOFRE LACSON HOUSE

This house was built from 1918-1920 by the family of Manuela Lazatin Lacson, and passed on to Onofre Lacson, both relatives of Mariano Lacson. The children of Onovre now occupy this house in Brgy. Sto. Cristo.

OCAMPO-DE JESUS HOUSE

The original owners of this Barangay Sto. Rosario eood and stone structure were Jose Sixto de Jesus and Apolonia Tablante, Spaniards from Malabon who migrated to Angeles. The house was bequeathed to daughter Maria Luz de Jesus, who married Meliton Ocampo.

THE DAYRIT HOUSE

Located in Brgy. Lourdes, the Dayrit house stands next to the the Apung Mamacalulu (Lord of Mercy) chapel, which houses the miraculous image of the dead Christ. It is visited daily by hundreds of devotees. The house was also the execution site for American cavalry deserters in the early 1900s.  

YAP HOUSE

Located in Brgy. San Nicolas, this stately residence was built by the first Chinese immigrants in Angeles. It is now under the care of a descendant, Lydia Yap.

CAMALIG 

This granary was built in 1840 by Don Ciriaco de Miranda, son of the town founder and the 1st gobernardorcillo of Angeles. It functioned as a granary for 120 years until it was converted into a pizzeria in 1973 by the Nepomucenos. The kamalig houses many old family photos and artifacts original to the granary.

MUNICIPIO 

The town hall was constructed during the American regime, in 1922, under mayor Juan D. Nepomuceno, and was built from the original 1840 Casa Tribunal. A detachment of the Spanish Army occupied the Tribunal in 1897, and the Philippine Revolutionary Government took it after the Spaniards fled in 1898. It was in this building that the Ameircans installed Florentino Pamintuan as the town alcalde. During WWII, the Japanese used the town hall as a jail for American escapees from the Death March prior to their execution. Beginning 1999, the town hall has been converted into a museum, Museo Angeles, by the Kuliat Foundation.

STO. ROSARIO CHURCH

This 1877 twin-towered church was built on land donated by Don Mariano Vicente Henson and wife Dna. Asuncion Leon Santos. It was done in the romasque style, and built from adobe quarried from Porac and iron roofing imported from England. During the Revolution, the belfries were used as watch towers. Gen. Arthur MacArthur converted the church as a military hospital while the Japanese used it as a horse stable. The dome was bombed in 1945.