Carlos Eduardo da Silva – Architect

 

Carlos Eduardo da SilvaClick on the SEARCH icon and enter his ID number (45656) to be taken to his personal page was appointed head of the commission to restore the world-renowned Juan Luna painting Spolinarium which was cut into three pieces and hidden from the invading Japanese. The painting is now at the National Museum. Carlos was also the architect of the Jai-Alai building along Taft Avenue which had the famous "Sky Room."*

*     Clarification: Carlos Da Silva was the architect that restored the building in 1947. A Philippine Heritage site notes that "Welton Becket, a friend of Hollywood celebrities and designer of the homes of such screen legends as James Cagney and Cesar Romero, as well as of Los Angeles airport" was the architect of the Art Deco Jai Alai building, which was completed in 1940.

An Online article Cesta Punta en Filipinas (in Spanish) notes that:

The Jai Alai of Manila will reopen in 1947. Its building was heavily affected by the bombardments [during WWII] which destroyed some 80% of houses. Through an investment of $3M, the Filipino architect Carlos da Silva was given charge of the reconstruction in which he opted to fuse Filipino, Malay, Chinese, Spanish & Northern American cultures.

The famous Sky Room Night Club will be opened to the public in July 1948 and the new restaurant, the Keg Room, in August of the same year. Vicente Madrigal (then a member of the Philippine Congress) has decided to pass a 2nd plan for the total conservation of the business.

By the way, sixty years after it was built and forty-three years after it was restored, the demolition of this Taft Avenue, Manila landmark began (on July 15, 2000, to be exact) on the orders of Mayor Lito Atienza.

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Jai Alai Manila