Got an overdose of Barosoain, Cathedral and the Capitol? Wait till you get to Calle Pariancillo, Malolos’ own version of Calle Crisologo of Vigan. Heritage buffs, here’s another place to linger upon, hehe!
Basically, as its name imply, it was once a small community of mestizo Chinese people who lived in Malolos. The afluent peoples of Malolos once live here as manifested by old bahay na bato and art noveau and art deco buildings that have been preserved overtime.
The entrance of the street itself is the Plaza, with a pre-war Malolos City Hall which is heavy on its bulky yet art-deco style. Said to have been built in 1930′s, today it still stand as the city’s edifice.
Well, pagpasok pa lang babalandra na ang lumang sinehan ng Eden. Only a few places outside Metro Manila does have a modern cinema back then. It does register Malolos’ affluence and economic importance back then.
Upon entering the street itself, two ancestral houses welcome the visitor…Boy, San Nicolas Manila is frustrating but these bahay na bato still stands and better preserved than their contemporaries back at the Big City.
One house that surprised me is the Meralco office of Malolos. The grandeur of the early 20th Century exudes in this establishment (and hopefully not of exuberance of the power utility itself, hehe!). Although no longer a residence of the Adriano-Vazques, Meralco did a fine restoration and maintenance with this mansion after buying it in 1995 and made a full restoration by 1997. It used the idea of adaptive reuse in which I hope most of the heritage buildings in other places would be.
Other than being a place where Malolosenyos pay their electric bills, the site is historical as the place of the tribunal during the Spanish colonial era.
Actually there are a lot of old houses lining up not just Calle Pariancillo, but also Calle Santo Nino which is just adjacent to Pariancillo. One of the most notable houses is the Casa Bautista just behind the Meralco Office. Caryathids in its columns of the second floor or muses decorate the house in its unique feature out from the usual bahay na bato.
Pariancillo and Santo Nino are some of the places for heritage buffs. It stood witness Malolos’ opulent and history.
For more photos of Calle Pariancillo, click below:
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