u/Lazy_Apricot5667

The bells were taken as spoils of war and shipped/allocated to U.S. military units in the United States as they were associated with the attack by being used for signals by the rebels. Years later, the Philippine government and local communities repeatedly sought their return, arguing the bells were religious/cultural property taken during wartime abuses. After many years of negotiations, on December 11, 2018, the bells were officially transferred back to the Philippines, marking the end of the 117-year period the bells had been in U.S. military custody.

The first two I wasn't sure where they were taken so I tried to get help from AI. No help from that initially. I realized that the two photos were taken at the same spot but different angles and had AI put them together as a panorama. After enhancing the photo, I put it in Google photo search and found out the main large building is the Manila Hotel before post WW2 renovations.

The Perez Park grotto (“kweba”) in Lucena is not a recent decorative addition—it dates back to the park’s original 1920s design. It was built as a man‑made cave doubling as a bandstand, where musicians performed for free in the 1920s–30s, making it both a cultural and recreational centerpiece.