(Photo courtesy of Chito Segismundo)
The patriarch of the Luz clan, Don José de San Miguel Luz é Inciong (gobernadorcillo of Lipa in 1844 and 1854), fondly called Capitán Ute, built the grandiose stone mansion for his youngest daughter Maria Luz y Metra married to Leon Librea y Mayo.
The house took ten years to build due to the lengthy process of drying the lumber, sawing the wood, and transporting it from Mindoro to Lipa. The posts and frames were made of molave, while narra was used for the flooring and santol wood for the ceiling and partitions. Since cement was unavailable at the time, the walls and columns were constructed from adobe, lime, and sand. The roof was made of galvanized iron, as red tile roofing had fallen out of favor due to its tendency to come loose. The ceiling was adorned with a cloth painted with designs inspired by famous European paintings.
By November 1881, the majestic structure inspired by Babylonian architecture, with its extensive curved columns, was completed.
With the house’s completion, Don José appointed its interiors with lace curtains from Paris, two Austrian high-length mirrors, pieces of Viennese furniture, local furniture from Ah Tay (a well-known Filipino wood carver), fine Chinese porcelains, and all glassware, silverware, plates, crystals, and chandeliers from Germany. It had undergone refurbishment in 1917 with the addition of bedrooms and a bathroom.
During the Japanese occupation (1941-1944), the house served as a Japanese headquarters. With the coming of the Americans in 1945, it became a hospital.
(Photo Courtesy of Renz Katigbak)
Today, the rear part of the house, which used to be the azotea, lies in ruins. Vines and graves took turns in giving life to the otherwise forgotten past, yet the house, although old and ravaged by time, still stands imposing.
As the youngest child of Maria Luz and Leon Librea, Josefa (married to José Luz Bautista) inherited the house. This house now serves as a legacy for all Lipeños, standing as a reminder of Lipa’s glory and grandeur—a silent witness to the town’s rich and historic past.
Unfortunately, this house is not open to the public.
Herencia Lipeña 
pwede kaya makita ang house?
The house is not open to the public.
I think Renz that this Mansion should be called the Librea Luz Ancestral House. The land belongs to the family of Leon Librea and her sister Romana Librea,my paternal Great Great Grandmother. I know Renz Beacause I have with me the original mother title of this land which was subdivided in the early 19th century. We live here Renz,at the back of the Librea Luz ancestral house.My Grandfather Maximo Malabanan Africa inherited the subdivided portion next to their’s.
My maternal grandfather is Francisco Macasaet Africa