the main building

The statues atop... Standing at the pedestals on the fourth floor of the Main Building are statues symbolizing the spiritual and intellectual aspiration of the University. A creation of the Italian Sculptor Francesco Monti, a faculty member in the College of Architecture and Fine Arts, they were installed between 1949 and 1953. Above the main doorway of the building is a group of three statues symbolizing Faith, Hope and Charity, also known as Tria Haec. Facing the building, one sees to the left of the Tria Haec, Fr. Vincent de Beauvais, O.P., St. Augustine, St. Raymond de Peñafort, O.P. To the right are the philosophers Aristotle, St. Albert The Great and Plato. On the side facing P. Noval are the three great writers of tragedy Calderon de la Barca, Sophocles and William Shakespeare. On the opposite side are the great playwrights Lope de Vega, Aristophanes and Moliere. (Source: http://www.ust.edu.ph)

simply called...

the main building.

This massive and imposing structure has the rugged look acquired through time since it’s construction in 1927. Most people mistook the main building as the university’s church but the cross atop the tower only signifies the catholic mission of the university.

This building hold many stories within its walls, turned into a concentration camp by the Japanese Imperial Forces in World War II. Here 10,000 Americans, British and other nationals were interned from January 1942 to February 1945. Here they were starved, dehumanized, left to die.