What do the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, and San Sebastian Church (the latter, allegedly) all have in common?

Answer: These monumental landmarks found in Paris, France; New York, USA; and Manila, Philippines respectively all have steel-based structures
that were designed and constructed by the engineering firm of Alexander Gustave Eiffel! Contemporary historian and current National Historical
Institute Chairman Hon. Ambeth Ocampo once wrote about the possible connection between Eiffel and San Sebastian while doing research in
Paris. He learned about a possible reference to the design and exportation of a church in Manila in 1875 - a good thirteen years before the
actual construction of San Sebastian Church began - based on the official catalogues of Eiffel.

Back in the 70's, famed Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei (who designed the once controversial Glass Pyramid of the Musée du Louvre in Paris
( http://www.pbase.com/carinoza/image/72952338 ) had visited Manila "to confirm reports he had heard that Eiffel had designed an all-steel
church in Asia ... and upon inspection he reportedly pronounced that the metal fixtures and overall structure were indeed designed by Eiffel ..."*.
The attribution of the overall architectural design is rightly given to Spanish architect Genaro Palacios, but the structural steel panels and
its innovative use is perhaps the key to the Eiffel design connection. So I hope that somehow clears up the ongoing debate on who actually
designed the San Sebastian Church (read: technically, both?). :-)

"The steel parts were manufactured in the Societe Anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques, a foundry in Binche, Belgium and
were shipped to Manila. The first batch arrived on June 12, 1888 ... and the whole structure was completed by August 16, 1891.
The stained glass windows in turn were imported from the Henri Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm." *

The Minor Basilica of San Sebastian - also known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - is located in Quiapo, Manila.
It has the distinction of being recognized by the UNESCO as "the only neo-gothic steel church in the Philippines and in Asia" -
possibly even the first pre-fabricated building in the world! The church is still surrounded by original Spanish colonial-era
type buildings that seems to make one feel transported back in time in their presence.

The Church of San Sebastian is a declared National Historical Landmark per Presidential Decree No. 260.
In addition, the church was listed among the 1998 World's Most Endangered Sites by the World Monuments Watch.

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*( Source for quoted text: http://en.wikipedia.org )