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.

RIZAL MONUMENT, MALABON 1963

This monument has been in its present location for decades. Its base used to be around seven feet tall. But due to the continued rising of the sea level that resulted in constant flooding, the ground had to be constantly raised. That explains the current short base of this monument.

PUENTE COLGANTE

The Puente Colgante was a suspension bridge that connected the Manila districts of Quiapo and Ermita across the Pasig River in Manila. It was the first suspension bridge in Southeast Asia and the first toll bridge of its kind in the Philippines. The bridge was first named Puente de Claveria, likely in honor of the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines Narciso Clavería, who served from 1844-1849.

It was built and owned by Ynchausti y Compañia, the business headed by Jose Joaquin de Ynchausti. He commissioned the design from Basque engineer Matias Menchacatorre. The building of the bridge was started in 1849 and completed in 1852.

During the 1930s, the suspension bridge was reconstructed and converted into a steel arch bridge in Art Deco style . It was renamed Quezon Bridge, after Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines at that time.

ROCKWELL POWER PLANT, MAKATI  1960s

The Rockwell Power Plant was a thermal plant named after the first president of Meralco, James Chapman Rockwell. It sits on a 15.5 hectare land owned by the Lopez family, owner of Meralco. The plant is located in Makati. The property used to be in a quiet area behind an exclusive residential village called Bel-air.

The 130-megawatt thermal plant serves as a source of power generation for the most part of Metro Manila since 1955.

The thermal plant closed in 1995 and in its place comes the Rockwell Center, a bustling residential, office, shopping and entertainment hub. The centerpiece is the Rockwell Power Plant Mall which was completed in the year 2000.

U.N. AVENUE, MANILA EARLY 1900s

U.N. Avenue was formerly known as Isaac Peral Street, after the Spanish engineer who designed the world's first fully capable military submarine in the late 19th century. It was later renamed in recognition of the World Health Organization, a United Nations agency, whose building was built in 1959 in the former University of the Philippines property located at its southwest corner with Taft Avenue.

Now, United Nations Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Manila. A commercial, residential and industrial artery, the avenue runs east-west through the near-center of the city linking Ermita and Rizal Park with the eastern districts. It is home to the World Health Organization Western Pacific headquarters. The avenue was also the site of the first Hilton Hotel in the Philippines which opened in 1960. This hotel is now Waterfront Manila Pavilion.

LAWTON 1930s

All Philippine roads and avenues used to be right hand drive lanes since the Spanish period which meant our cars had been right hand driven or simply put the steering wheel is positioned on the right side of the car.

The left hand drive policy was implented after World War II. President Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 34 on March 10, 1945, which directed Filipino motorists to drive on the right side of the road.

AYALA AVENUE MAKATI 1960s

Ayala Avenue's segment from Paseo de Roxas to Makati Avenue used to be a runway of the Nielson Airport, which was one of the first airports built in Luzon. The airport was destroyed during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines on December 10, 1941 and resumed operations after the end of World War II in 1947. The runways were converted into a road in 1949 when the permanent facilities of the airport was passed on the owner of the land, the Ayala Corporation.

PLAZA MORAGA BINONDO EARLY 1900s

Plaza Moraga is the gateway to Chinatown and the whole Binondo district. During the American occupation, this was the home of different first class restaurants, business establishments and embassies of foreign countries. It was named after a Franciscan friar, Fernando de Moraga and it is by the opinion of many, that were it not for him, the history of the Philippines would turn out differently from what it is now.

Plaza Moraga is a thriving commercial area in Binondo. It was the site of the very first ice cream parlor in the Philippines. Opened in 1899, Clarke’s Cafe created a stir in those times by being able to offer ice cream to their patrons.

PANDACAN 1930

Officially, Pandacan was established as a community in 1574 when Franciscan priests of the Roman Catholic Church established the first mission in the district. Pandacan was originally part of the parish of Sampaloc; it was later established as a separate parish in 1712.

In the 19th century, Pandacan was described as a "Little Venice" or "Little Italy" for its numerous canals or estuaries leading to the Pasig River. Many would leisurely row through the estuaries in the late afternoons as described by Francisco Balagtas in his early writings. Pandacan was home to balladeers and a source of musicians in the early times. Pandacan was also home to prominent Filipino artists and writers of the 19th century, including Francisco Baltazar (also known as Balagtas) who authored Florante at Laura; musician Ladislao Bonus; Tagalog language theorist Lope K. Santos; and playwrights Miguel Masilungan and Pantaleon Lopez.

By the turn of the 19th century, the American colonial government decreed Pandacan as the center for industrial activity and had oil companies build their storage and distribution facilities in the district. With the presence of several manufacturing facilities in the district, a modern housing facility was built to house the workers at the nearby oil depots. The housing project was called "Kapitan Tikong" (Captain Tikong) subdivision, named after a popular local leader. The housing facility was built on the southeastern banks of the Estero de Beata. In honor of Francisco Baltazar, the streets in the subdivision were named after the characters of Florante at Laura.

PLAZA CARLOS III BINONDO, MANILA EARLY 1900s

One great influences of Spain urban planning concepts in the Philippines is the Plaza System. Those residences and establishments near the plaza is said to be for the privileged families and the farther your distance from the plaza, your social status also diminishes. All of these plazas are named after some important people, events or places like the plazas the grace the other Spanish cities.

One such plaza is the Plaza Carlos III, named after King Carlos III of Spain. Hotel de Oriente and La Insular Cigar Factory were the plaza's principal landmarks before World War II. Unfortunately, both Hotel de Oriente and La Insular were burned down during the Japanese occupation. The Metrobank building now occupies the former site of the two buildings.

CALLE ROSARIO, BINONDO EARLY 1900s

Calle Rosario was named after the district’s patron saint Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Binondo church was built in 1614 and was dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Most chinese families and merchants moved to Binondo when the old Parian near Intramuros was demolished in 1860 by the Spanish government for fear of chinese uprising and eventual control of the economy. Calle Rosario became the business hub of these displaced chinese businessmen during the late Spanish regime and the early days of the American colonial era.

Just like Escolta and the Puente de España, the street of Calle Rosario was paved with wooden blocks called Australian blue gum which had been imported for paving purposes. It was later replaced by native Philippine wood Molave while MERALCO used Ipil and Yakal to strenghten the foundation of its railways for its tranvia during the American period.

In the prewar years, Calle Rosario housed some wholesale emporia, banks, first-classs eateries and offices of prominent lawyers, doctors and accountants. It also rivalled Escolta as a shopping center being a haven of imported goods and quality textiles. Manila's first class hotel at that time called Hotel de Oriente once stood near Calle Rosario where our national hero Jose Rizal once stayed.

Today it is where the Filipino Chinese Friendship Arch stands and where the oldest Chinatown in the world is known. It is now called Quintin Paredes street after a brilliant lawyer and Philippine senator of the 1950s.

RIZAL THEATER, MAKATI 1960s

The Rizal Theater was one of the most elegant stand alone cinema of the 1960s and the 1970s. The theater was a lovely example of stylish art deco building designed by National Artist for Architecture Juan Nakpil. It was intended to become a part of the Rizal Memorial Cultural Complex originally intended for completion by 19th of June 1961, in time for Jose Rizal’s birth centennial. But due to lack of funds, the memorial complex was not built and the building that was constructed initially was redesigned by Nakpil, which what was to become the Rizal Theater.

During the 1980s, with the advent of the malls and fierce business competition, stand-alone movie theaters weren’t all that commercially viable. So the stylish Rizal Theater met the wrecking ball and was sadly demolished in the late 1980s. The Makati Shangri-la Hotel now stands in its place since 1993.

PIER 7, MANILA 1930s

Pier 7 was constructed in 1918 and was designed by National Artist for Architecture Tomas Bautista Mapua. Located near Manila Hotel, it was known as the Million Dollar Pier because it is reputed to be the longest passenger pier in the world back then. The government spent 12 million pesos for the construction of Pier 7. In World War II, the pier suffered great damage due to the air bombing raids of the Japanese in 1941 and got totally destroyed during the liberation of Manila in 1945. It was rebuilt by the Americans during the restoration period and is now known as Pier 13.

THE ALFONSO ZOBEL MANSION

Alfonso Zóbel de Ayala Roxas is the son of famous pre-war industrialist and philanthropist Don Enrique Zóbel y de Ayala, and father of former Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Zóbel de Ayala. Together with his wife, Carmen Pfitz Herrero, the couple had built a grand mansion for their family.

The house, located along the scenic Dewey Boulevard ( now Roxas Boulevard ) corner Padre Faura street in residential Ermita, was designed and a masterpiece of the Paris-trained architect Andrés Luna de San Pedro, son of the great painter and national hero Juan Luna. The house had been designed in the French Renaissance style, which was the prevalent design of the houses of Manila's elite at that time.

Unlike the fate of Manila's other precious buildings, the house had survived the devastating Battle of Manila in 1945. After the war, Don Alfonso sold the house to compensate what they had lost during the war years. Their house became the offices of the French Embassy in Manila when the Zóbels moved to their new home in suburban Makati.

The French Embassy soon vacated the house and moved to another location. Then the Bank of Asia occupied the mansion and made it one of their main branch in the 1960’s. The Bank of Asia had vacated the mansion and art galleries from nearby Tesoro's occupied the property due to the renovation of the latter.

The mansion was finally destroyed by the wrecking ball in the 1990’s, giving way to the 1322 Golden Empire Tower which now stands on the property.