For somebody who spent most of his life in Quezon City and earning all his street smart badges, a visit to the Quezon Memorial Circle can be a very welcome knowledge trip. The photo above is a far cry from how it looks now. There is now a good amount of trees and the ultra-wide road that encircles the property.
It was president Manuel L. Quezon who opened up this frontier of this part of Metro Manila more than 50 years ago.
The park has more than 20 hectares of property divided into activity centers, playgrounds, dining areas, and the memorial tower.
A nice surprise for the old-timers who have not visited the area for many years is the underpass that straddles the wide and very busy (and dangerous for hard-headed pedestrians!) rotunda road. 
This place also hosts a good number of dining facilities that current diners are enjoying by themselves now.
The memorial tower.
Inside the memorial tower is a museum of many things about Manuel Quezon. Entrance is free, but bring a few pesos to drop in the donation box.
That's our man, El Presidente Manuel L. Quezon
This painting reminds me so much of the usual socialist illustration of progress. We go marching forward!! 
What?! He kicked Culion to oblivion? Yeah, must read the whole story before thinking of anything. It was a simple case of trying to kick leprosy by finding some sort of a cure for the disease. Culion is an Island in Palawan Province where a leper colony was established. Now that there is a cure for the disease, the colony is now also gone.
You can say your final respect to the man. It was actually a good feeling hearing some locals who ventured into the museum and whispered that it was a nice place, after all.... and that they learned a lot. I saw some who were taking a peek inside the dark chamber leading to the museum and thinking twice whether they would go inside or not. THe guard had to repeatedly tell them that its totally alright to go inside, ha ha... really funny.... and a bit sad...Much can still be done in the area to make more people take back the park for themselves, and in the process learn and appreciate the land and the man who made Quezon City a prosperous territory in the Philippines.
Thankyou - I am staying in Culion at the moment so fasccinating to read this - with your permission I will use the image in my blog.
ReplyDeleteTim SJ
@Tim SJ - sorry for the super delayed reply. Yup! no problem. And thanks also for the comment.
DeleteThe 5th picture was made by grandfather braulio dayao. My grandmother and my mom and the rest of our family used to visit the museum when we were little. It's nice knowing we get to see one of his painting on display to this day it gives us the reminder of him every time.
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