Quezon Memorial is a national park and mausoleum, located in Quezon City, the former capital of the Philippines. The park is shaped like an oval and is bounded by the Oval Road. The main attraction of the park is the Mausoleum, which houses the remains of the country's second president, Manuel Quezon and his wife Aurora Quezon.
Actually, this place was reserved for the construction of the National Capitol where the Philippine Congress was to sit. In November 1940. the foundation stone was even laid, but construction was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. After the war, President Sergio Osmena issued an executive order a decree to start a public fundraising drive to build a memorial to the memory of his predecessor, Manuel Quezon. A competition was then held for the best design for the memorial, which was won by Filipino architect Federico Ilustre. In addition to in addition to the memorial itself, a complex of three buildings was to be built - a library, a museum and a theatre.
According to the project, the monument was to consist of three vertical pylons, symbolising the country's major geographical regions - Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas - and surrounded by a seal. Visayas, and surrounded by sad angels holding Asian jasmine (the national flower). Each pylon is 66 metres high (the age at which Manuel Quezon died). Inside the pylons was supposed to be a two-storey building - gallery from which visitors could see Quezon's hearse, modelled on Napoleon Bonaparte's hearse.
Construction of the memorial began in 1952, but progressed very slowly, partly because of the cost of imported Carrara marble, which was imported which was brought in blocks and cut on site. There were also problems with the management of the funds raised for the construction, as well as the theft of marble. It wasn't until 1978 the monument was completed in 1978, on the 100th anniversary of Manuel Quezon's birth. His remains were moved here in 1979. And in 2005, the remains of his wife Aurora the remains of his wife, Aurora Quezon.
Unfortunately, the planned library, museum and theatre buildings were never built. However, two small museums were created on the territory of the memorial - in the one houses Manuel Quezon's personal belongings, and the other is dedicated to the history of the city of Quezon City.
