The prewar Uy Su Bin building on Rosario Street in Binondo, Manila, has been demolished to give way to a commercial development, the latest heritage structure to be torn down in the storied Manila district.
“We feared for the worse and the worse is now a reality,” said advocate Ivan Man Dy of the building he describes as the last American-period art deco apartment cum shophouse in Binondo.
In the recently published book, “Deco Filipino” by Dy and Gerard Lico, Uy Su Bin was described as a local Chinese company that ventured into the distribution of imported toys and school supplies.
Its store was located on the ground floor of the building while the upper levels have a number of apartments.
The book notes the building is characterized by a sunburst motif at its entrance, abstract grills and ziggurat-framed doors in each apartment unit.When asked about the issue, Rene Escalante, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair, said the demolition was cleared by his agency.
The developer, he said, “will preserve the facade of the building and requested to have access going inside the inner part of the lot.”—CONTRIBUTED INQ
