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Iloilo Customs House
Aduana de Iloílo (Spanish)
The façade facing the Iloilo River (2022)
Alternative names	Adwana sang Iloilo (Hiligaynon)
General information
Status	Active
Type	Government building; museum
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Address	Muelle Loney Street corner Aduana Street, Iloilo City Proper
Town or city	Iloilo City
Country	Philippines
Coordinates	10°41′39″N 122°34′20″E / 10.694175°N 122.572146°E / 10.694175; 122.572146
Completed	1916
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Ralph Harrington Doane

Museum of Philippine Maritime History

Museo sang Kasaysayan sang Dagat sang Pilipinas (Hiligaynon) Museo ng Kasaysayang Pandagat ng Pilipinas (Filipino)
Logo
Interior of the museum
Established	2023 (2023)
Location	Iloilo Customs House, Muelle Loney Street corner Aduana Street, Iloilo City Proper, Iloilo City, Philippines
Type	Museum
Owner	National Historical Commission of the Philippines

The Iloilo Customs House (Spanish: Aduana de Iloílo; Hiligaynon: Adwana sang Iloilo) is a historical building in Iloilo City, Philippines. It was built in 1916 to a design by American architect Ralph Harrington Doane, then Consulting Architect of the Bureau of Public Works in the Philippine Islands. Among the three American-era customs houses in the Philippines, it is the second largest (after Manila's) and second oldest (after Cebu's, now known as Malacañang sa Sugbo). The building is located at Muelle Loney Street and Aduana Street along the Iloilo River and still houses the offices of the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Immigration in Iloilo City.

At present, the Iloilo Customs House houses the Museum of Philippine Maritime History (Hiligaynon: Museo sang Kasaysayan sang Dagat sang Pilipinas; Filipino: Museo ng Kasaysayang Pandagat ng Pilipinas) of National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) at the ground floor and the office of Bureau of Customs at the upper ground floor.

History

The Iloilo Customs House was built in 1916, during the American colonial period in the Philippines. It was then referred to as the Iloilo Customhouse, completed with an original appropriation of ₱200,000, plus an additional appropriation of ₱33,000 in 1917. It is the second custom house built by the Americans after the Cebu Customs House (now known as Malacañang sa Sugbo) of 1910.

Planning for the new custom house of the port of Iloilo started in 1913, with Consulting Architect William E. Parsons initially overseeing the project. The new building was to rise west from the old Spanish-era custom house near the river.

After the departure of Parsons in 1914, the new Consulting Architect George C. Fenhagen took over in the preparation of building plans. Vol. 4 No. 2 of the Bureau of Public Works Bulletin (July 1915) described the circumstances leading to its construction:

The Consulting Architect has stated that plans for the customhouse will be, he hopes, finally completed about the 1st of August. The residents of Iloilo have become rather impatient for some evidence of this structure. Assurance has been given, however, that work will be started immediately upon the receipt of the plans and it is hoped that nothing further will prevent its being started at an early date.

Ralph Harrington Doane replaced Fenhagen as Consulting Architect in 1916, and prepared the final architectural plans of the building. Doane was very critical of Parsons' work in the islands, and endeavored to improve the aesthetics i.e. ornamentation of public buildings. Among his oeuvre are the Pangasinan Provincial Capitol and the National Museum of Fine Arts (Manila).

In 2018, the building underwent rehabilitation by National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

The building is currently after undergoing another rehabilitation for adaptive reuse, houses the Museum of Philippine Maritime History by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which opened on January 13, 2023. It is the third thematic history museum in the Visayas after the NHCP Museum of Philippine Political History and Presidential Gallery in Cebu City and the NHCP Museum of Philippine Economic History, also in Iloilo City.

Architecture

The architectural style of the Iloilo Customs House is neoclassical, with a dominant central tower. The Manila Customs House, designed by Juan Arellano and constructed towards the end of the American colonial period, is a more ornate version.

Filipino architect Tomas Mapua is often erroneously credited for its design, although he only entered service in the Bureau of Public Works in 1917, when the building was already substantially completed, and as an assisting architect (together with Juan Arellano) to the new Consulting Architect, Ralph Harrington Doane.

See also

• Aduana Building (Manila Customs House)
• Museum of Philippine Economic History
• Museum of Philippine Political History

References

1. ^ "NHCP turns over the completed restoration project for Customs House Building". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. February 8, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
2. ^ ExploreIloilo.com. "Iloilo Customs House (Aduana)". Explore Iloilo. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
3. "Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 6 No. 1, p. 13". Internet Archive. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
4. "Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 2 No. 4, p. 39". Internet Archive. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
5. "Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 4 No. 2, p. 33". Internet Archive. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
6. Lena, Perla (November 28, 2022). "Iloilo's Jaro belfry rings again after 74 years". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
7. "[Ilonggo Notes] Why Iloilo should be the museum capital of the Philippines". RAPPLER. May 8, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
8. "Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. 6 No. 1, p. 13". Internet Archive. Retrieved December 21, 2022.

External links

• Media related to Iloilo Customs House at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Iloilo City Proper
Downtown Iloilo
Buildings	Casa Real de Iloilo Celso Ledesma House Fort San Pedro (Iloilo) Iloilo Central Market Iloilo City Hall Iloilo Freedom Grandstand Iloilo Provincial Capitol Old Iloilo City Hall San Jose Church (Iloilo) SM Delgado Terranza Residences Iloilo Calle Real Elizalde Building Eusebio Villanueva Building Hoskyn's Department Store Iloilo Customs House
Squares and monuments	Arroyo Fountain Plaza Libertad Sunburst Park
Museums	Museo Iloilo Museum of Philippine Economic History Museum of Philippine Maritime History National Museum Western Visayas
Education	Assumption Iloilo Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School Cabalum Western College Colegio de las Hijas de Jesus Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus Hua Siong College of Iloilo St. Paul University Iloilo Sun Yat Sen High School University of Iloilo University of San Agustin University of the Philippines Visayas
Transportation	Forbes Bridge General Luna Street Iloilo Fish Port Complex Iznart Street J.M. Basa Street Muelle Loney Street Panay Railways Plazoleta Gay Port of Iloilo
Related	Dinagyang Kasadyahan Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Iloilo Santo Niño de Cebú
Italics denote buildings under construction or defunct.

v t e Iloilo City
La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloílo
Topics	History Metropolitan area People Media Districts Skyscrapers Nicknames
Districts	Arevalo City Proper Jaro La Paz Lapuz Mandurriao Molo
Geography	Iloilo River Batiano River Iloilo Strait Panay Gulf Ortiz Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Iloilo Province
Landmarks	Arroyo Fountain Calle Real Camiña Balay Nga Bato Casa Mariquit Casa Real de Iloilo CPU Church Iloilo Business Park Iloilo Central Market Iloilo Convention Center Iloilo Customs House Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art Iloilo River Esplanade Jaro Belfry Jaro Cathedral Lizares Mansion Lopez Heritage House Molo Church Molo Mansion Museo Iloilo Old Iloilo City Hall Old Jaro Municipal Hall Plaza Libertad San Jose Church
Education	Primary and secondary schools Universities and colleges Central Philippine University Iloilo Doctors' College Iloilo Science and Technology University John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University St. Paul University Iloilo University of Iloilo University of San Agustin University of the Philippines Visayas West Visayas State University
Culture	Ilonggo language Ilonggo people Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro Dinagyang Kasadyahan Paraw Regatta Festival Our Lady of the Candles Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Iloilo Santo Niño de Arévalo Lopez Jaena Day La Paz Batchoy Pancit Molo Mang Inasal Newspapers
Transportation	Airport Seaport Panay Railways
Western Visayas Philippines Category

• Neoclassical architecture in the Philippines
• Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Proper
• Tourist attractions in Iloilo City
• Government buildings in the Philippines
• Museums in Iloilo City
• History museums in the Philippines
• Maritime museums
• Buildings and structures completed in 1916