The City Hall is a low, white American-period building on Plaza Pershing in the very centre of downtown — Mediterranean-revival arcades, red-tiled roof, palm trees out front. Built in 1907, it was originally the headquarters of the Moro Province under American military governor General John J. Pershing (who later commanded US forces in Europe in the First World War) and the square in front of the building takes his name.
The City Hall and the surrounding plaza are the easiest place to feel the layered history of Zamboanga: Spanish colonial street grid, American civic architecture, modern Filipino flag and crowds, the call to prayer drifting in from a nearby mosque.