| Original Caption |
- The Casas Consistoriales (Ayuntamiento) Marble Palace designed by a military engineer, Eduardo Lopez Navarro and was constructed from 1879 to 1884. The building had marble halls, wood-paneled rooms, and lavish furnishings. The building had several offices (one of which was for the distribution of free vaccines), the residence of the mayor, and a prison. On the upper floor were the government archives, a salon de baile. The Ayuntamiento witnessed the change of colonial power at the end of the19th century. Spanish and American officers led by General Wesley Merritt and Governor-General Ferde Jaudenes signed the terms of capitulation of Manila here. During the early American period, this building was used as the office of the American military governor until the change to civil government in 1903. The session room was used by the First Philippine Assembly in 1907 and, later, by the Philippine Legislature. The Bureau of Justice and the Philippine Supreme Court also held office here. The building was destroyed in 1945 and has remained in ruins.
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