Both seem to be abandoned and on the way to destruction. These houses are already considered heritage edifices since they are more than 50 years old and historic aside from being antiquated.
The first house…owner unknown, is located at the corner of Narciso St. and Espina St.(Brgy Taft). Pastor Wilde E. Almeda, founder of the Jesus Miracle Crusade Int’l.(JMCI), and his family stayed here briefly in1949-50 when they arrived from Cantilan, Surigao del Sur(now) before moving to Cateel, Davao Oriental.. and eventually to Manila.
The other house, owned by Onesimo Urbiztondo, a Cantilangnon, is located at Borromeo St. beside the Yuipco Bldg. This was the first Lodging House in Surigao, a town then, perhaps older than Alvarez Tavern.
I should know because i grew up in the proximate neighborhood of both houses since our home was located in Espina St. between Borromeo and Narciso Sts.Other old houses in the vicinity still standing are D’Beaut owned by Mr. Celestino Jose and almost next to it…the residence(renovated) of Mr Odon Pecho Sr.
The cultural mapping being undertaken by the City through the Tourism Office is a very laudable initiative and it is our hope that we can preserve these bldgs…public as well as private and not only that know about their history and those who once upon a time lived there.
The American poet Archibald Mcleish once poignantly wrote about these houses symbolizing lost generations and civilizations:
“An open doorstep…a maple leaf”.
Imagine that…eternal silence and the dark shadow of an old house behind.
But they are not voiceless…they have stories to tell in our history. Let us listen and listen well and learn from these silent voices from our inherited past.
All of us are going back to our past homes inevitably and eventually.
Thank you so much for posting this subject matter. On the 2nd subject house, I just want to correct the spelling of my grandfather’s name, it is spelled Onesimo Urbiztondo, that house which I grew up in was the Urbiztondo Apartment. Thank you, and more power to you