Gusali ng Mababang Paaralang RizalGusali ng Mababang Paaralang Rizal is a Marked Structure, NHCP; Registered Property, Province of Negros Occidental located at Bacolod City, Bacolod City, Region VI.
Marker Text:
Gusali ng Mababang Paaralang Rizal
Pinakamatandang gusaling pampaaralan ng Negros Occidental. Ipinatayo noong 1907 para sa Rizal Institute (dating Instituto de Rizal), ang unang mataas na paaralang pampubliko sa Bacolod. Sina Jorge Vargas Alexander Reyes, Serafin Hilado at Fernando Hugo ang ilan sa mga unang nagtapos dito, 1909. Inilipat sa Mababang Paaralang Bacolod West, 1952; Pinanganlang Mababang Paaralang Rizal, 1959.
Year Unveiled: 1990
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Originally founded in 1901 as the Instituto de Rizal, the school was renamed the Rizal Institute in 1903 when the American Thomasite teachers arrived in Bacolod. When it transferred to the present building in 1907, it became Bacolod High School until 1924, when it changed name to the Occidental Negros High School.
It was converted into Bacolod West Elementary School in 1932, and was renamed Rizal Elementary School in 1959.
Its original construction of wood supported by a concrete base survives. A verandah wraps around the ground floor and an old acacia tree shades its open second story. Large sliding kapis windows above ventanillas that reach to the floor open up large sections of wall to the outdoors. To maximize the interior airflow, interior partitions have rows of pierced wooden fretwork (calado) panels that meet the high ceiling, allowing air to freely circulate within the building.
Source: http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/in-focus/heritage-movement-restores-schoolhouses-nationwide/