That concrete and metal jungle in the distance is Baguio City. More than 400,000 people currently call it home. About 150 or so years ago, it was home to Ibaloys who lived in small villages scattered around the area.
The Spaniards were the first foreigners to realize the beauty of the region and its viability as a place for recreation and recuperation. They planned on constructing a sanitarium in Baguio in the late 1800s. Their plan got squashed when the Spanish-American War erupted.
The victorious Americans picked up on the idea of establishing a hill station in Baguio. The American architect Daniel Burnham was tasked to design Baguio as a garden city for 30,000 people.
It's 2025 and within the next several years, the city's population will break through the half-million mark.
#baguio #baguiocity #history #civilization
