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Description

Summer Capital of the Philippines and the home of the Philippine Military Academy

Detailed promotional and tourist map of the city of Baguio, published in 1931. 

The map is hihgly detailed, noting types of roads (3 classes), major buildings, parks, hotels, military installations, colleges, Camp John Hay, a country club, etc.

At the time of its publication, it was the Summer Capital of the Philippine islands, although the Philippine Military Academy, whose predecessory had been moved to Baguio from Manila in 1908.

Baguio was established as a hill station by the United States in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway. It was the United States' only hill station in Asia.

When the United States occupied the Philippines after the Spanish–American War, Baguio was selected to become the summer capital. Governor-General William Taft, on his first visit in 1901, noted the "air as bracing as Adirondacks or Murray Bay..."  In 1903, Filipinos, Japanese and Chinese workers were hired to build Kennon Road, the first road directly connecting Baguio with the lowlands of La Union and Pangasinan. Before this, the only road to Benguet was Naguilian Road, and it was largely a horse trail at higher elevations.

The Mansion, built in 1908, served as the official residence of the American Governor-General during the summer to escape Manila's heat.  

Burnham, one of the earliest successful modern city planners, designed the mountain retreat following the tenets of the City Beautiful movement. In 1904, the rest of the city was planned out by Burnham. On September 1, 1909, Baguio was declared as a chartered city and nicknamed the "Summer Capital of the Philippines"  The succeeding period saw further developments of and in Baguio with the construction of Wright Park in honor of Governor-General Luke Edward Wright, Burnham Park in honor of Burnham, Governor Pack Road, and Session Road