| Mansion House | |
| Alternate Names: | The Mansion |
| Altitude: | approx. |
| Owner: | Government of the Philippines |
| Current Tenants: | Bongbong Marcos President of the Philippines |
| Location City: | Leonard Wood Road, Baguio 2600 |
| Location Country: | Philippines |
| Coordinates: | 16.4122°N 120.6214°W |
| Inauguration Date: | 1908 |
| Architect: | William E. Parsons |
The Mansion, also known as Mansion House,[1] is the official summer palace of the president of the Philippines, located in the summer capital of the country, Baguio, and situated around asl in the Cordillera Central Range of northern Luzon.
The Mansion House was built in 1908 to serve as the official summer residence of American governors-general at the insistence of Governor-General William Cameron Forbes. The name is derived from Forbes’ summer cottage in New England. Architect William E. Parsons, based on preliminary plans by architect Daniel H. Burnham,[2] the city planner of Baguio, designed the mountain retreat following tenets of the City Beautiful Movement.[3] In 1910, the Second Philippine Legislature met at The Mansion House for three weeks.
With the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935, The Mansion House, along with Malacañan Palace in Manila, was turned over to the Philippine President. The high commissioner to the Philippines, successor to the governor-general as the highest American official in the country and representative of the United States government, then built the American Residence, completed in 1940.
The structure was badly damaged during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1947. Since then, it has served as the holiday home and working office for each President during their visits to Baguio.[3]
The Mansion House was also used as the venue of important events, such as the second session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) in 1947, the second session of the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1948, and the first meeting of the Southeast Asian Union (SEAU), more commonly known as the Baguio Conference of 1950, which was conceived and convened by President Elpidio Quirino.[3] More recently, The Mansion House was used as a venue for international conferences.
On January 21, 1994, communist rebel Conrado Balweg and his followers, who had been using The Mansion’s guesthouse as their headquarters since 1986, were removed from it by policemen without violence.[4]
The Mansion House consists of an elegant Spanish Colonial Revival building and a detached guesthouse. The elaborate front gate of ornate ironwork, was once rumoured to be a replica of the main gate of Buckingham Palace in London, but this has since been disproven.[5] [6] [7] [8] [9] The front gate is still one of the most photographed features of the entire complex. The public may visit the inside of The Mansion House, which contains a museum featuring presidential memorabilia.
Across the road from The Mansion House is Wright Park, a quiet promenade with a long reflecting pool lined with agoho (Australian pine) trees.[10] A long stairway leads visitors to the back, where ponies for children are available for hire.[11] Dotted around the nearby hills are private holiday homes and small inns.