Quezon City

The soul of Quezon City (part 2): the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum

While the administration of the Quezon Memorial Circle is handled by the Quezon City Government, the Quezon Memorial Shrine on the other hand is being administered by the National Historical Commission, not only because of the significance of the structure itself, but also because of the heritage it holds inside: a rich throve of memorabilia related to Manuel Quezon.

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At the foot of the shrine is a small museum dedicated to Quezon, one of the few examples of a dedicated presidential museum in the country. The best thing about this place is that it is open to the general public for free; rather, it encourages donations from the visiting public as a way to help keep the museum’s maintenance running.

Aside from the Malacañang Museum, the Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum’s collection of Quezon memorabilia is significant. A number of these items on display are gifts from various heads of states during his time, like this one below from the Chinese government headed by Chiang Kai Shek.

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As well as gifts from some groups and important individuals in the country at the time.

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the old Philippine flag which was a gift from Emilio Aguinaldo, who ironically was his rival in the 1935 presidential elections (not sure if the gift was given before or after the elections)

As well as some publications like sheets of music composed in Quezon’s honor, a testament to how revered he was as a leader during his time.

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There are also some paintings on display…

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…even the bed Quezon was confined in when he fell ill during his stay in Corregidor.

The museum itself does not hold a large area. Nevertheless, it is one place one should not miss whether you are a history or a Quezon fan or not. The admission being free should be enticing enough for you to get to learn a bit more about our history.

To be continued…

© The Urban Roamer

6 Comments

    • urban roamer

      the image on the blog is the only one I got…nevertheless you can go ahead and use it. just provide credit to this blog. thanks!

  • AiashiK.

    I’ve been dreaming always about this structure since when I was young (5 years old I think) and till now that I’m already 21. I didn’t even visited this place but when I saw this for the first time when I was 19 years old (March or April 2010), I was really shocked. I’ve been dreaming this for how many times. Just this tower and sometimes, I’m standing in front of it. But for most, I dreamed, I was standing in the top of that tower. It seems that the tower is pulling me to visit this. So weird.

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