William E. Parsons: Difference between revisions

'''William Edward Parsons''' (June 19, 1872 – December 17, 1939) was an [[architect]] and [[city planner]] known for his work in the [[Philippines]] during the early period of [[History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|American Colonialcolonial Periodperiod]]. He was a consulting architect to the [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands]] from 1905 to 1914, and designed various structures, most notably the [[Gabaldon Schoolschool Buildingsbuildings]].

During the early years of the American colonial era, Governor-General of the Philippines [[Howard Taft]] favored a comprehensive building construction and city planning in the country.{{r|Bronson}} [[William Cameron Forbes]], having recently appointed as commissioner to the Philippines, sought out [[Daniel Burnham]] to create plans for the cities of [[Baguio]] and [[Manila]].{{r|notes}} Burnham and architect Pierce Anderson drew up preliminary plans based from site surveys in 1904 and 1905, free of charge on Burnham's end. The plans were followed by a recommendation of a well-trained architect for the Governmentgovernment's plan, as Burnham ended his involvement on the plans in the Philippines.{{r|dreams}}{{r|hines}}

Parsons was recommended by Burnham for the position, who at that time was practicing [[architecture]] in [[New York City]], having recently graduated from [[École des Beaux-Arts]], Paris. Parsons arrived at Manila in November 1905, tasked to "interpret" the preliminary plans prepared by Burnham and Anderson for Manila and Baguio, and modify these as needed. Parsons also prepared his own preliminary city plans for [[Cebu City]] in 1912, in line with the [[City Beautiful movement]]. In this plan the [[Cebu Provincial Capitol]] was conceptualized to be positioned at the northern end of Jones Avenue (now [[Osmeña Boulevard]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=mcosep |date=2018-11-11 |title=History through the walls |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/203126/history-through-the-walls |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=Cebu Daily News |language=en}}</ref> Parsons would also supervise plans for building projects for the Bureau of Public Works.{{r|govgenpi}} Several public buildings and parks designed by Parsons are a hybrid of colonial architecture and that of the Philippines, which is a tropical country. Such designs also adopted the use of local material, such as hardwoods and [[capiz shell]]s for [[window sash]] in place of glass to reduce sunlight glare (see [[Capiz shell window|Capiz-shell window]]).{{r|Rebori}}

Parsons also prepared the standardized plans of the [[Gabaldon School Buildings|Gabaldon school buildings]], which were designed akin to templates with the intent of promoting efficiency in the planning process.{{r|govgen}} These are school buildings constructed in the Philippines between 1907 and 1946 and named after the late assemblyman [[Isauro Gabaldon]] of Nueva Ecija, who authored the Gabaldon Act which appropriated P1 &nbsp;million for the construction of modern public schools nationwide.{{r|cebu}}

<!-------He received a salary from the Government which paid the cost of plans, etc. He was also allowed to engage in private practice, and maintain a separate office during most of his years in Manila. He served until February, 1914, resigning because "there seemed to be no further progress to be made under the scuttle policy of the present administration." He was succeeded by his assistant, George Corner Fenhagen, as the Consulting Architect of the Philippine government.-------->Parsons resigned in 1914, and he was succeeded by George Corner Fenhagen as the Consultingconsulting Architectarchitect of the Philippine government. He died on December 17, 1939, at his home in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], survived by his wife and two children.{{r|ded}}{{r|grave}}

{{NoteTag|name=tomb|His tombstone uses June 19, 1872; likely the baptismal date. June 17, 1872 comes from the transcription of Ohio Births and Christenings, 1821–1962. The discrepancy may have been a transcription error.|{{r|grave}}}}