Balay Negrense Museum Holds its Memories of the 19th Century

BALAY NEGRENSE

Photo from: https://outoftownblog.com/balay-negrense/

The Balay Negrense was originally the ancestral house of Victor Fernandez Gaston, a son of Yves Leopold Germain Gaston and Prudencia Fernandez. The elder Gaston is a native of Normandy in France where he married a Filipina from Batangas where he initially began experimenting with sugar production before relocating to Negros. Balay Negrense is a museum in Silay City which showcases the lifestyle of a late 19th-century Negrense sugar baron. This museum was the first to be established in Negros Occidental in October 6, 1990. Read More: http://lexicalcrown.blogspot.com/2014/04/balay-negrense-of-silay-city.html

Photo from: http://landasia.ph/heritage-houses-philippines-will-charm/balay-negrense-1/

Also called the “Victor F. Gaston House,” Balay Negrense was built during the height of Silay as the region’s cultural and economic center. Victor Gaston, son of Frenchman Yves Leopoldo Germain Gaston (considered the first to popularize sugarcane cultivation on a commercial scale in the region), began the construction of the house in 1898.

The house has 12 bedrooms and two floors, making it one of the biggest colonial houses in the city. Inside the house is a living room the size of a basketball court. But more than the size, what makes this house special are the exquisite details like the intricately etched windows, delicately carved wooden ventilation panels and spacious gardens. Read More: https://www.thepoortraveler.net/2011/07/silay-city-tour-bacolod-negros-occidental-trip-1213/

Photo from: https://carlovalenzona.com/balay-negrense/

Many 19th century houses are well preserved in the city of Silay. The mansion of the son of the first Negrense sugar baron, Yves Leopold Gaston, Balay Negrense is one of them. Built in early 1900’s, the two storey 12, bedroom house features a huge front lawn, a huge receiving area and a beautiful staircase to the second floor. The second floor also has a receiving area with 3 bedrooms at each side of the house. The house of stone and wood fuses Spanish and American colonial architecture and features a double staircase. French windows and large living areas. The museum is a showcase of the province’s history based on the eyes of the hacienderos like Don Victor. Read More: https://www.iluvcebu.com/balay-negrense/