I GUSTAVE EIFFEL AND THE PHILIPPINES

I

gUSTAVE EIFFEL AND THE PHILIPPINES

French engineer Gustave Eiffel is best known for the tower he built for the 1889 World Exposition which, to this day, remains as the landmark that defines Paris and France.

His company, the G. Eiffel et Cie and later the Société de construction de Levallois-Perret, partnered with architects world-wide to provide materials and structural design work for bridges, lighthouses, factories, gas plants, churches, and other buildings for public use like train stations. One of the most notable of such partnerships is with Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. Bartholdi designed the Statue of Liberty and the interior framework was built by Eiffel.

Figure 177. Portrait of Gustave Eiffel (Bibliothèque nationale de France)

In Asia, Eiffel worked on projects in Cambodia, China, Java, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Saigon Central Post Office, one of Eiffel’s major works in Vietnam, still remains standing. At the height of his career, Eiffel had representatives in various parts of the world.

Eiffel was also commissioned to do projects in the Philippines. His company is known to have undertaken at least nine design and building projects from 1875 to 1895. These are: Church of Manila (1875); the San Nicolas Lighthouse in Manila (1878); and the bridges of Santa Cruz in Laguna (1890), Ayala on the Pasig River (1890), Simala in Cebu (1891), Tanauan in Batangas (1892), Calamba (between 1892-1893), San Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan (between 1892-1893), Ayala (1893), and Janipan in Iloilo (1895).1 Unfortunately, none of these projects have survived to this day. Eiffel had many projects in the Philippines, second only to the Cochinchina states.

Figure 178. Official stamp of Eiffel’s company found on many of the designs he made (Archives nationales du monde du travail–Roubaix)

1878 ÉGLISE DE MANILLE (CHURCH OF MANILA)

In the 1880s to the 1890s, Jacobo Zobel y Zangroniz, one of the founders of Ayala y Compañia (Ayala et Cie), the precursor of today’s Ayala Corporation,2 was the sole representative of G. Eiffel et Cie in the Philippines. It was in this capacity that Jacobo Zobel also imported the first bicycles to the Philippines.3

Figure 179. Eiffel kept Carnets de sortie d’usine (Manufacturing Order Books) that confirm the works that his company designed or fabricated materials for. The page above shows that Eiffel was commissioned to work on an Église de Manille (Church of Manila) in 1875.4 The date roughly corresponds to the time when Felix A. Roxas designed and received the approval of the Jesuits to build the San Ignacio Church.

As the agent of G. Eiffel et Cie, Jacobo Zobel arranged the partnership between Felix Roxas y Arroyo,5 the first Filipino architect, and Eiffel for the construction of the San Ignacio Church in Intramuros.6 While many attribute the San Sebastian Church to Eiffel, it was in fact the San Ignacio Church that was built with steel provided by Eiffel’s company.

Figure 180. Photo of the interior of the San Ignacio Church located at Calle Arzobispo in Intramuros, Manila. This Jesuit church built by Felix Roxas y Arroyo was completed in 1889 but destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945. (Postcard)

1878 PHARE DE SAINT NICOLAS, MANILLE (SAN NICOLAS LIGHTHOUSE, MANILA)

Spanish architect José Echeverría is another architect who collaborated with Eiffel. In 1876, Echeverría was commissioned to work on an offshore lighthouse located at San Nicolas in the Manila Bay. Eschewing the traditional mode of construction that a large number of lighthouses in the Philippines were built from, Echeverría designed the San Nicolas Lighthouse to be made of iron supplied by Eiffel’s company.

Figure 181. A page from the Carnets de sortie d’usine confirming that Eiffel was commissioned to work on the Phare de Saint-Nicolas (Rade de Manille) [San Nicolas Lighthouse, Manila Harbor] in 1878.7

Figure 182. Design of the Phare de Saint Nicolas, Manila8

1890 PONT DE SANTA CRUZ, LAGUNA (SANTA CRUZ BRIDGE, LAGUNA)

In 1890, Eiffel appointed Mr. Louis René Denis, a civil engineer living at 43 rue de Constantinople, Paris, as his representative to manage and execute the works in "Cochinchina, Cambodia, Tonkin, and the Philippines". It was also during the same year that records show that Eiffel worked on two projects in the Philippines: the Santa Cruz Bridge in Laguna and the Ayala Bridge in Manila. Both bridges no longer exist, having been replaced by newer construction.

Figure 183. A page from the Carnets de sortie d’usine confirming that Eiffel was commissioned to work on the Pont de Santa-Cruz (pour Manille) [Santa Cruz Bridge for Manila] in 1889.9

Figure 184. Contract signed by Gustave Eiffel authorizing Louis René Denis to represent him in projects in Cochinchina, Cambodia, Tonkin, and in the Philippine Islands, signed in 1890. (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

The following party appeared in the presence of the undersigned, Mr. Dufour and his notary public colleague in Paris: Mr. Gustave Eiffel, a structural engineer and officer of the French Legion of Honor, living in Levallois-Perret, 42 rue Fouquet; Who has hereby appointed Mr. Louis René Denis, a civil engineer living in Paris, 43 rue de Constantinople, as his representative; And given him a power of attorney; To represent him before French administration or third parties, regarding the management and execution of the works that Mr. Eiffel is or may be in charge of in Cochinchina, Cambodia, Tonkin, and the Philippine Islands; For this purpose, to sign any account, to receive any communication, to present any new research submission, to make any deal and sign any treaty related to the works, either with the administration or with the third parties; To attend the provisional or final acceptance of the works; to sign any minutes and any freight bill and to sign their discharge receipts; to sign any agreement and to represent the appearing party before the competent courts, to obtain all judgments and decrees and to ensure their enforcement through all legal means and remedies, to collect any registered package and letter at the address of the appearing party; To receive any payment that is or will be owed to the appearing party in this respect and for any reason, to receive any payment mandate and their corresponding amount; to make any purchase; to make any deal and pursue their implementation; For the foregoing purposes, to sign and carry out any legal act, to elect residence, to replace and generally do what is necessary. Based on the presented model, the abovementioned terms were formally acknowledged in Paris, 37 rue Pasquier, in the offices of Mr. Eiffel, on February 4, 1890. Further to the reading of the terms hereof, the appearing party and the notaries signed this document. Signatures of Gustave Eiffel, Louis René Denis and Mr. Dufour

Figure 185. Folder containing the designs and other related documents for the construction of the Pont de Santa Cruz de la Laguna. (Archives nationales du monde du travail–Roubaix, Ref,152 AQ 231–3, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 186. Blueprint of the Pont de Santa Cruz de la Laguna (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231–3, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 187. Cross section of the Pont de Santa Cruz de la Laguna showing elevation. (Archives nationales du monde du travail–Roubaix, Ref,152 AQ 231–3, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 188. Photograph of the completed Santa Cruz (de la Laguna) Bridge taken in 1891 by Albert Fernique (1841–1898). (Photo/Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Alexis Brandt)

Figure 189. Design of the Pont de Santa Cruz de la Laguna showing detail of the elevation. (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231–3, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

1890 PONT DE AYALA SUR LE RIO PASIG, MANILLE (AYALA BRIDGE ON THE PASIG RIVER, MANILA)

Eiffel’s company developed a system of pre-fabricated bridges and used these designs in many of their projects in the Philippines.10 This method allowed for the construction of portable bridges in an economical manner.

The Ayala Bridge was based on one of these pre-fabricated designs and used imported structural steel produced by Eiffel’s company.11 A project managed by Jacobo Zobel, the bridge was named after the Destileria de Ayala which was located on the south bank of the Pasig River.

Figure 190. Photograph of the Ayala Bridge taken in 1890 by Albert Fernique. (Photo/Musée d’Orsay, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Alexis Brandt)

Figure 191. Sample of a bridge project brochure. (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

1892 PONT DE TANAUAN, BATANGAS (BRIDGE OF TANAUAN, BATANGAS)

Figure 192. Cover of folder containing schematics, documents relating to the construction of a bridge in Batangas by Eiffel. (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231–7, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 193. Handwritten notes dated 27 June 1892 regarding the construction of a 25.6 meter long bridge in Batangas using a Type 34 bridge. (Archives nationales du monde du travail–Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231–7, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 194. Design of the bridge in Batangas by Eiffel dated 5 July 1892 (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231–7, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

1895 PONT SUR LE RIO JANIPAN, ILOILO (BRIDGE SOUTH OF THE RIVER JANIPAN IN ILOILO)

Figure 195. Folder cover stating an order of an 11R bridge for Manila sent by a Mr. Schül [see letter f] (Archives nationales du monde du travail— Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231-7, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel) Figure 196. Computation of the type 11 bridge dated 12 April 1895. (Archives nationales du monde du travail— Roubaix, Ref. 152 AQ 231-7, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 197. Part of the design of the bridge for Janipan dated 24 April 1895. (Archives nationales du monde du travail—Roubaix, Fonds des Établissements Eiffel)

Figure 198. The Palais du Trocadéro was built for the 1878 World Exposition. (Postcard)

Figure 199. The Palais de l’Industrie was built for the 1855 World Exposition. It has been the venue for the Salon de Paris from 1855 until it was demolished to make way for the Grand Palais which was constructed for the 1900 World Exposition. Since 1901, all successive renditions of the Salon de Paris have been held under the glass roof of the Grand Palais (Photo / Christelle Gonzalo)