Thursday, April 2, 2009

Additional info on A Masterstroke

In the photograph I mentioned, Mr. Rudy Allayban (of the University Archives) and I examined it thoroughly. You could see the bulldozed area with some portions burned down -- presumably to cleanse the area of pests etc. I am going to try and find a digital copy of that so I can post it here.

What remains a mystery is why three trees were not taken down -- the one in front of the Ricardo Leong Center, the tree beside the Irwin Theater in the Grade School, and the one fronting the Loyola House of Studies. It might be a coincidence but the three trees form some triangle.

The trees that you now find all over the campus, in Miriam College, and some along Katipunan outside UP were planted by Fr. Irwin in conjunction with the local government.

There are few houses in the valley below. The photo shows the area even leading up to Riverbanks and Cainta to where the LRT station now stands. The area is barren.

What this means is that a whole community sprung up after Ateneo moved to Loyola Heights!

Further to the triangle, the road that would eventually become the main thoroughfare in Marikina would be called "Andres Bonifacio Drive." The old Balara Road would be re-named "Katipunan Avenue." And further west, the road would be called "Tandang Sora."

What we both want to know is why did the renaming of the streets after Philippine Revolutionaries stop with the three. The three form a "U" shape.

In 1972, another aerial photograph was taken of the entire area that includes portions of UP to the west and the Marikina Valley to the east, I was astounded to how clear the photo is. This was taken before digital imagery. The lenses must have been high powered because it is startling in its clarity and detail.

The two photographs where the subject of a study made by UST Architecture students years ago. They marveled at the soundness of the development of the school and how precise its construction was.

Wonder what it would look if a picture of the area was taken from an orbiting satellite?

Next on the Ateneo Heritage Series: The Blue Ghost.

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