Molo Mansion (Yusay-Consing Mansion): The Yusay-Consing Mansion is located in Molo, Iloilo City – fronting the magnificent Molo Plaza and St. Anne Parish Church. It was built in the 1920s and has been home to Molo’s powerful and influential families. With its preservation, it is now a heritage museum housing products, delicacies, art, and crafts by Ilonggos.
Built during the 1920s, the Molo Mansion was home to Dona Petra Lacson together with her husband, Estanislao Yusay, Manila’s judge of the Court of First Instance at the time and a prominent lawyer and judge from Molo. They were eventually joined by ten children.
After the family moved out of the mansion, it became the home of former Iloilo governor Timoteo Consing Sr. with his wife. Rosario Yusay, who was among the ten children, inherited the house from the couple. The property was handed down to the governor’s son, Timoteo “Nene” Consing Jr., spouse of Nieva Ramirez-Consing, and one of the owners of the sugar mill company Passi Sugar Central which later on was acquired by the Universal Robina Corporation. Over the years, the house also accommodated two Philippine Presidents, Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmena, during their official trips to Iloilo. Unfortunately, the house was neglected for years until SM bought the property from the Consing family.
In no time, SM restored the abandoned and dilapidated house to the condition it is now. The plan of conservation was led by architect Augusto Villalon of the Cultural Heritage Resource Associates and Melvin Patawaran of Tropiks Design Studio. The restoration was to rehabilitate the deteriorating walls, replace broken architectural details, and repaint the structure. A garden was planted outside to welcome the guests. The interiors were refurbished and the building was retrofitted with new electrical and sanitary systems.
After the restoration, the mansion has been turned into a heritage museum with a souvenir shop that sells local products and delicacies. It was also paired with food stalls on its side to serve visitors by homegrown brands. A cultural souvenir and gift shop within the mansion was repurposed as Kultura Filipino.
The newly-renovated Molo Mansion reopened in time to welcome the delegates of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Iloilo last September 2015. As part of their city tour, delegates visited the mansion.
From the gate, visitors are dropped off at the roundabout with a fountain and a garden at the center. Fronting the street is a semi-circular arcaded portico with a terraced veranda on the ground floor and a balcony on the second floor. A molded string course runs around the second-floor line of the building and is supported by a series of ancones in a scroll-shaped corbel. The mansion today is surrounded by homegrown businesses such as coffee shops, burger houses, Asian food stalls, and a sausage truck.
Article originally published on www.VisitIloiloCity.com.
Nice pics! Thanks for sharing.