Asia/Philppines/Cebu/Cebu City/Fort San Pedro/

Fort San Pedro

(Pier Area, Cebu City). The smallest, oldest tri-bastion fort in the country. This served as the nucleus of the Spanish settlement in the Philippines. It has a total inside area of 2,025 sq. meters. The walls are 20 feet high, 8 feet thick, and the tower is 30 feet high from the ground. Work was first started on May 8, 1565 with Miguel Lopez De Legazpi breaking the ground. After the battle of Manila Bay, Commodore George Dewey turned the fort to the local Cebuanos, and then it became the American Warwick Barracks during the American Regime, which was later converted into classrooms where the Cebuanos received formal education.During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, it served as fortification for Japanese soldiers. When the battle for liberation was fought, the fort served as an army camp. After 1950, Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner court into a miniature garden. For a couple of years it also housed the Cebu City Zoo. In 1978 to August 15, 1993, it housed the offices of Department of Tourism and the Philippine Tourism Authority. At present, it is under the care and administration of the PTA and now houses the National Museum that showcases the San Diego shipwreck & Fort San Pedro diggings.

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