The Manila Central Post Office was designed  by Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano, in neoclassical style, and was built in 1926.  It was a magnificent structure of towering pillars  flanking expansive stairways,  gargoyles perched along the eaves, decorative doorways, and ornate grillework. It would be rebuilt post-war, though without great skill or sensitivity. The building would then be hemmed in by new buildings entirely devoid of architectural merit, and environmental spirit. (Image courtesy of the the John Tewell Collection.)