People's Park in the Sky

People's Park in the Sky
Type Urban park
Location Mount Gonzales in Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines
Coordinates 14°8′29″N 121°1′19″E / 14.14139°N 121.02194°E / 14.14139; 121.02194Coordinates: 14°8′29″N 121°1′19″E / 14.14139°N 121.02194°E / 14.14139; 121.02194
Status Open to public

The People's Park in the Sky also known as simply People's Park is a historical urban park in Tagaytay, Cavite, Philippines. The park was converted from an incomplete mansion, known as the Palace in the Sky built during the Marcos Era. The incomplete scaffolding of the mansion remained intact. The Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love and a doppler weather radar station maintained by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is also within the park.[1]

History

Imelda Marcos decided to build a mansion on top of Mount Gonzales, which was at that time a land owned by the government. The summit before was used by the Bureau of Air Transport as a radar station. Construction of the Palace in the Sky began in 1981. The construction of the mansion was a tedious one as roads were built for supplies to reach the top of the 2,500 ft Mount Gonzales. The mountain was leveled by bulldozers and farmers living on the mountainside were asked to relocate. Construction of the mansion was hastened when US President Ronald Reagan announced his intention to visit the Philippines in November 1983. It was reported that the Marcos administration planned to accommodate Reagan at the Palace in the Sky. Post-People Power Revolution critics of the Marcos administration described the unfinished mansion as a symbol of the Marcos administration's excess.[2]

Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love

The Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love is located within the People's Park in the Sky. The shrine was installed in December 15, 1974 with the installation of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the child Jesus by Hernan D. Reyes, aided by four high school students and two workers. During the construction of the Palace in the Sky in 1981, workers were unable to blast a huge rock containing the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with several dynamite blasts. The rock was remained intact, after the discovery of the image.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Pagasa - Dost - Dost Service Institutes
  2. ↑ Cawley, Janet (31 March 1986). "Unfinished "palace in the sky" is tribute to excess". The Lewiston Journal. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  3. ↑ Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love (Plaque). Plaque at the Shrine of Our Lady, Mother of Fair Love, People's Park in the Sky, Tagaytay. After 1981. Check date values in: |date= (help)
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