They Painted The Town (Hall) Red

Last year, the Office of the Mayor of Pila, Laguna re-painted the Pila Municipal Center in shocking red. The colonial structure which was inaugurated on June 13, 1931 during the 700^th death anniversary of St. Anthony of Padua is traditionally painted white. The town hall is a colonnaded American period structure designed by Architect Paulino G. Agra.

The red town hall caught the attention of the Heritage Conservation Society and is one of the heritage structures featured in the their 2007 Krag and Concrete Calendar.

The Pila Municipal Center is a perfect match to the red and white quasi-Romanesque facade of the Sta Lucia church of Sta Lucia, Ilocos sur. It is worthwhile to note that the town of Sta. Lucia has two barangays named Pila, Pila West and Pila East. Pila in Ilocano means very hard earth (tierra muy dura).