The unusual architecture of the Ocampo Pagoda, located on Paterno Street in Manila's Quiapo neighbourhood, catches the eye of everyone who happens to be in its vicinity. Built in 1935, it resembles a Chinese temple with a tower, which in turn resembles a medieval castle - a perfect example of the "West meets East" style of architecture. The entire area where the pagoda and the surrounding houses now stand once belonged to the influential businessman Don José Mariano Ocampo. A lawyer by training, he was a successful property trader. He built the pagoda to adorn his marvellous garden and serve as the office of his real estate firm.
Don Ocampo was very fond of art, in particular, he had a magnificent collection of Filipino paintings that once adorned the interior of the pagoda. He was also extremely fond of the art of the Orient - even though he had never been to Japan, he dreamed of having his own Japanese pagoda. After carefully studying all available photographs and drawings from magazines and books, Ocampo began to thoroughly design the pagoda. He hired the best engineers of the time, who built one of the most interesting sights of modern Manila. But just a couple of years after completion, World War II broke out and the pagoda was used as a bomb shelter.
The amazing structure and the garden surrounding it managed to survive the many bombings and destruction of the war years, but did not survive the mercantilist and neglectful times that followed. Ocampo's descendants sold off their ancestor's property, and today the garden that once bloomed lushly around the pagoda is gone, and the new owners have dismantled the sculptures that once adorned the garden itself. The pagoda has become a guesthouse for sailors looking for work and is in a dilapidated state. In 1992, during a major earthquake, part of the tower collapsed to the roof. Unfortunately, the high cost of repair work has so far prevented the current owners of the pagoda from putting it back in order.
Interestingly, some of the sculptures have survived to this day, but to see them, you have to wander around the neighbourhood: from Paterno Street you have to turn left to De Gasman Street, then left again to a narrow street starting just after the bridge. It is along this street that the religious sculptures that once served as the pride of Ocampo's garden stand.
