Escario St., Cebu City
It is the street which was formerly known as "WALING WALING" beginning at the end of Doña Pepang Avenue ( now President Sergio Osmeña Boulevard, formerly named Jones Avenue) where the Provincial Capitol Building is located and traversing Gorordo Avenue up to the intersection of D. Jakosalem Extension is officially named as "Dr. Nicolas G. Escario Street".
The Cebu City Council on motion of Councilor Eulogio E. Borres, seconded by Councilor Juan G. Zamora on June 24, 1960 enacted City Ordinance No. 295, renaming a street in honor of the doctor-turned-educator and Mayor of Cebu City.
Nicolas was born on Dec. 6, 1898 in Bantayan, Cebu. He was the son of spouses Gregorio Escario and Victoria Gandiongco. He studied at the Seminario de San Carlos in Cebu, then later at the Ateneo de Manila and his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Sto. Tomas, finishing it in 1924. He practiced medicine at the Southern Islands Hospital (now Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center) as Senior Resident Physician from 1924 to 1928.
He married Socorro Lizares and they were blessed with three children; Gregorio, Nicolas and Maria Socorro. Nicolas established in 1946 the Cebu Institute of Technology (now Cebu Institute of Technology University), with Engr. Fidel C. Dagani, Engr. Amancio A. Alcordo and Engr. Jose A. Cavan, who were all United States- trained engineers. The noble vision of the educational institution is to offer college courses for the people of Visayas and Mindanao so they won't have to go to Manila. He was the post-war Mayor of Cebu City in 1946, with the herculean task of putting the city back on its feet after being damaged by the war. When the city funds fell short, he spent personal funds to cover the salaries and wages of the employees to ensure that government functions would not be hampered.
He was then appointed as Member of the Provincial Board of Cebu and subsequently elected for two successive terms from 1949 to 1957 as Representative of the Old Seventh District of Cebu. He died on November 1, 1958, but his dream of educating the people of Visayas and Mindanao continued. The school which was originally located at F. Ramos transferred to a large tract with a semiconcrete building in C. Padilla Street, which is now the Gothong Memorial High School, produced thousands of successful alumni. The school finally settled in an area straddling two barangays, with the front along the N. Bacalso Avenue and at the back along Tres de Abril Street.
‘He was the post-war Mayor of Cebu City in 1946, with the herculean task of putting the city back on its feet after being damaged by the war. When the city funds fell short, he spent personal funds to cover the salaries and wages of the employees to ensure that government functions would
not be hampered.’