ESCOLTA, MANILA 1920s

One of the oldest streets in Manila, Escolta was created in 1594. Its name was derived from the Spanish word escoltar, meaning " to escort ". It certainly has a rich history dating back to the early Spanish colonial days. Escolta used to be a sleepy town during the early part of the Spanish colonial regime. Later on, it became known for its concentration of immigrant merchants, mainly from Fujian, China, who came to make their fortune during the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade. The street was lined with shops and boutiques selling imported goods from China, Europe and elsewhere in Latin America that arrived in the nearby port of San Nicolas.

The coming of the American troops after the Spanish-American War ended transformed Escolta almost overnight into a wild and noisy row of bars and saloon. But Governor-General William Howard Taft soon changed all this when one of his earliest official acts was to bar all saloons from the Escolta in 1902. It became a respectable shopping thoroughfare once again with the influx of a large number of American investors, most of them established their headquarters and offices in and around Escolta.

ACME SUPERMARKET

Found on Padre Faura between Mabini and M.H. del Pilar, this grocery store was the first choice of families who wanted to buy imported chocolates, potato chips, and other food items from America, Europe, and Australia.

The ACME on Padre Faura was one of the first modern grocery stores specializing in imported foodstuffs. If you’re born in the 1950′s, you probably remember Acme Super Market as the store where kids would sneak in to buy their favorite Sen-Sen candies, Double Bubble Gum, or comics.

After World War II, there was a great construction and restoration of facilities in the Philippines undertaken by the U.S. Government. There were a lot of Americans involved in the major constructions that temporarily becomes residents of the Philippines and that includes their families.

American style supermarkets such as ACME provides for the daily grocery needs of American professionals and servicemen during that time. It also caters to Filipinos who wants to purchase imported goods.

TRANVIA TERMINAL AT PLAZA DE GOITI 1930s

Plaza de Goiti is a public square in Santa Cruz, Manila. Although the plaza is not considered the center of Santa Cruz, as it is located behind the Santa Cruz Church rather than in front of it, the plaza is considered to be one of the most important squares in Manila.

Prior to World War II, Plaza de Goiti was considered the heart of Manila and constituted part of the city's downtown area, which also included Plaza Santa Cruz, Rizal Avenue and Escolta Street. Commercial activity shifted to here from Binondo in large part due to infrastructure improvements made during the American colonial period to improve access to the northern half of the city, which were centered on the plaza. These included the completion of the Santa Cruz Bridge in 1902 and the opening of the Manila tram system a few years later, which had its central terminal at the plaza.

Originally named after Martin de Goiti, who founded the City of Manila in 1571, it was renamed by former Mayor Lito Atienza in 2003 after Arsenio Lacson, who previously served as mayor of Manila from 1952 to 1962. The public square was renamed Plaza Lacson.

OLD ATENEO DE MANILA CAMPUS

The Ateneo de Manila University began in 1859 when Spanish Jesuits established the Escuela Municipal de Manila, a public primary school established in Intramuros for the city of Manila.

Before they set foot in Loyola Heights in Quezon City, the Ateneo Campus is situated in the the corner of Arzobispo St. and Anda St. in Intramuros.

The Escuela eventually changed its name to Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865, when it became accredited as an institution of secondary education.

After Americans occupied the Philippines in the early 1900s, the Ateneo de Manila lost its government subsidy from the city and became a private institution. The Jesuits removed the word Municipal from the school’s official name soon after, and it has since been known as the Ateneo de Manila.

When the original campus was destroyed by fire in 1932. The campus transferred in the Manila Observatory in Padre Faura after the fire, with only the Grade School to remain in Intramuros when the site is rebuilt.

Devastation hit the Ateneo campus once again during World War II. But even if the Ateneo campus had been destroyed, the university survived. Following the American liberation, the Ateneo de Manila reopened temporarily in Plaza Guipit in Sampaloc. The Padre Faura campus reopened in 1946 with Quonset huts serving as buildings among the campus ruins.

In 1952, Jesuit Rector William F. Masterson S.J., moved most of the Ateneo units to its present Loyola Heights campus which was donated by the Tuason family patriarch Jose Ramon Tuason for educational purposes.

The lot and ruins of the grade school in Intramuros, the original campus, were made into a warehouse after it was sold to a private firm. The Intramuros Administration bought the lot in 1992.

BUREAU OF SCIENCE MANILA

Designed in 1901 by American architect Edgar Bourne, this Mission-style Neoclassic building was touted as one of the best equipped laboratory buildings in the world.

During the American Occupation, the building served as a laboratory where minerals, agricultural products, and fauna of the Philippines would be stored and studied.

Like other unfortunate Manila landmarks, the Bureau of Science Building was also destroyed during WWII. The building laid in ruins along with several irreplaceable specimens that were valuable to the scientific community.

The location of the building is now occupied by the U.P. Manila National Institutes of Health.

BONIFACIO DRIVE

It is named for national hero Andrés Bonifacio, the Supremo of the Katipunan and thus the father of the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire.

The road was previously called Malecon Drive during the American period. During Spanish rule, it was known simply as Malecón (Spanish for waterfront esplanade) which the road was prior to the reclamation of South Harbor (Port Area) during the late 19th century. It was also known alternatively as Paseo de María Cristina, after the then Queen of Spain Maria Cristina.

TEMPLE EMIL 1940

Temple Emil, a Jewish Temple in Manila, April 1940. This temple was badly damaged and was eventually torn down after the Battle of Manila.

The synagogue was rebuilt by 1948, but was relocated in the 70's to the Makati business district. The old property is still owned by the synagogue but houses commercial buildings now.