A Moment in history: Construction of the Garces Ancestral House Circa 1952.
The Garces ancestral house is one of the grandest ancestral houses in the City of Talisay, Cebu. It was built from 1951-1955 by Don Vicente Hermosa Garces, a notable Cebuano writer and politician and a native of Talisay along with his wife Resureccion and their 13 children. The house is in the post war style with Italianate influences like the ornate concrete reliefs of pineapples and other motifs. The most notable part of the house is the large four story tower.He was born in 1877 and served as mayor of Talisay between 1925-1937, aside from his post as Mayor Vicente Garces was a Poet and many of his works were published in the Cebuano newspaper “Bag-Ong Kusog” there are two ancestral houses bearing the name of the Garces House one on the Street Bearing the name of Vicente H. Garces which sadly has been destroyed to make way for a restaurant.
In this photo dated to around 1952 when the construction of the house was already well underway the large tower has just been completed with the rest of the house yet to materialize. Very rarely do photos of how these houses were built exist, yet alone found. The house was moderately damaged by Super Typhoon Odette.The house is beautifully designed with stained glass windows and Pineapple concrete designs. It is important that this house be saved as it could be the last house in Talisay of this size and grandeur from this time period.
Old and new photo credit: ©UnknownCebu
