In Talisay City about 5 Kilometers south of Cebu City is the Cervantes Ancestral house of Talisay City, Cebu. The house exhibits a American-Spanish period design with A terrace with balustraded Walls and the house itself has a standard Square shape typical of Spanish era houses. The house is beautifully designed reminiscent of American Period architecture. The house is one of the few ancestral houses in Talisay that is beautiful and in Good Condition. The house has undergone many renovation’s during its lifetime including the changing of the original wooden first floor and the addition of the Balcony in the 1950s.
The Cervantes House
The Cervantes ancestral house was built shortly before World War 2 with renovation after the war according to the current owner, the owner said the house was built by his grandfather who wanted to preserve the American Period Architecture that was prevalent before the war. The house can easily be mistaken for a pre war house with Capiz windows, balusters with ventanillia, ventilation shafts and a canopy above the capiz windows. The Builder of the house was a man named Daniel Cervantes who was the Vice Mayor of Talisay in 1947, his name appears on the steps of the Rizal Monument In front of the Municipal Hall turned College. The ancestry of the Cervantes family traces back to Binaobao,Bantayan. The house was built around the 1920s considering its architecture inspired by late American and late Spanish designs, the balcony was added in the 1950s. During World War 2 this house was used as the civilian field hospital as the nearby houses of Julio Fernandez were used as the military hospital, many patients were treated here for all types of ailments. The house was spared from the bombings and bombardment of American planes and ships because of its hospital status. This is one of the last surviving houses of the Cervantes family as most were destroyed during World War 2.
In the image above the house is clearly not of modern design as the ventanilla and Capiz or Shell windows can be clearly seen the lower half of the house is made of Marble overlayed on what seems to be Concrete while the top half is made of wood. Interestingly another house which also bears the name of the Cervantes house can be seen across the road and though it seems to be reminiscent of Seaside mansions built in the American Period.
The house has Capiz Windows as well as arched glass windows the wall of the property has beautifully designed patterns made of Metal bars. The lower part of the house is made of several brick arches a feature which cannot be seen in the Photo is a small terrace. The houses are used as a normal dwelling in the first picture and an area for weddings, parties another social gatherings. The exact location is in Poblacion,Talisay
