of the bastión San Miguel (NE) was the Almacenes de Pólvora (powder magazine). History The date of construction of the stone fort is uncertain, although there are claims that a Jesuit Antonio Campioni built a stone fort in 1630, and the gate of the fort bears the date 1738 together with the arms of Castile and Leon. It is certain, however, that the fort underwent major renovations in the late 19th century as part of a building program to improve Cebu. The victory of the Americans led by Commodore Dewey at the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, marked the end of the Spanish era in the Philippine Islands. The fort was then surrendered by the Spaniards to the Cebuano revolutionaries. Fort San Pedro became a part of the American Warwick barracks during the American regime. From 1937 to 1941 the barracks was converted into a school where many Cebuanos received their formal education. During World War II from 1942 to 1945, Japanese residents of the city took refuge within the walls. When the battle to liberate the city of Cebu from the Imperial Japanese forces was fought, the fort served as an emergency hospital for the wounded. From 1946 to 1950, Fort San Pedro was an army camp. After 1950, the Cebu Garden Club took over and fixed the inner part and converted it into a miniature garden. Although already in ruins, the upper deck was utilized for different offices. First, as a clinic of the City Health, as office of the Presidential Arm and Community Development then the City Public Works Unit used the ruins of the lieutenant's quarters as its field office. In 1957, Mayor Sergio Osmeña Jr. announced his intention to demolish Fort San Pedro and erect a new city hall on the same site. Opposition was voiced by the newspapers and magazines in Cebu City and Manila. Following pressure to drop the plan, Osmeña backtracked and stated that he would instead use the space behind the fort. In the very same year, the city council commissioned "The Lamplighter", a religious sect, to manage a zoo subsidized by the city within the fort courtyard. By 1968, the façade, quarters and walls of the original structures of Fort San Pedro were so obliterated that only the two towers were recognizable. Plans for the restoration of the fort was started, and the zoo was relocated. Plans