The structure of the RUINS is of Italianate architecture with neo-Romanesque twin columns. Notice the shell-inspired decor at the top edges of the mansion. In New England, they often were homes to ship’s captains. The father of Maria Braga was a captain of the ship. The Mansion was built after the death of Maria Braga and became Don Mariano’s residence with his unmarried children. It was the largest residential structure ever built at that time. Felipe, one of the sons, supervised the construction of the mansion making certain that the A-grade mixture of concrete and its pouring was precisely followed.
The structure met its sad fate in the early part of World War II when the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East), then guerilla fighters in the Philippines, burnt the mansion to prevent the Japanese forces from utilizing it as their headquarters. Despite the inferno that it underwent, bringing down the roof and the 2-inch wooden floors, the structure still stands and has withstood the test of time minly due to the oversized steel bars and the A-grade mixture of concrete used in its construction.
The monumental size and grandeur of the Ruins bespeaks of the lifestyle of the “hacienderos” in the not-so-distant past.
