Paco Park

The Paco Park is a recreational garden and was once Manila’s municipal cemetery built by the Dominicans during the Spanish colonial period. It is located on General Luna Street and at the east end of Padre Faura Street in Paco, Manila, Philippines.Paco Park has also become a very popular venue for weddings and receptions for couples who prefer garden-like settings. The Chapel of St. Pancratius is under the care of the San Vicente de Paul Parish and the Vincentian fathers who also manage the nearby Adamson University.HistorySpanish periodAccording to an on-site inscription, an order for the construction of a cemetery in Bagumbayan was issued in 1807, due to the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in Manila. Maestro de Obras Don Nicolas Ruiz developed a plan for the Paco Cemetery, while Don Jose Coll served as supervisor of the construction work. The cemetery was primarily designed as a municipal cemetery for the affluent and established aristocratic Spanish families who resided in the old Manila, or the city within the walls of Intramuros during the Spanish colonial era. It was on April 22, 1822 when the cemetery was officially inaugurated, although it had been in use for two years prior to its completion.In 1859, Governor Fernándo Norzagaray y Escudero proposed the extension of the cemetery to approximately 4,500 square yards, enclosing the original plan with another circular outer wall. For the amount of Php 19,700, a Chinese builder won the bid to build the outer portion of the cemetery. At that time, the niches cost Php 20 for three years, which was subject to renewals as no one was granted privilege to own the niches in perpetuity.