Ermita

The Grand Dame by the Bay (Part 2)

by

With the many changes the Manila Hotel underwent through over the years, there is still this old world charm that it has managed to somehow retain today. This is evident the moment you step in its doors and be greeted by its iconic grand lobby.

P6034021

From the lobby to the room, every inch of the hotel manages to still retain an old world charm that reminds you of what Manila was in the past.

As far as hotel dining is concerned, the Manila Hotel has managed to make its mark thankss to its Ilang-Ilang Restaurant which offers a rich buffet of dining choices from different parts of the world.

Given its long history, there are countless stories that have been told in this hotel, from the illustrious guests that made their way through the grand lobby, or even at the hotel bar, where legend tells that sometime in 1946, an American businessman Roy Farrell and a group of journalists brainstormed for a name for his new airline. It was decided then and there that its name would be…Cathay Pacific.

Read more

The Grand Dame by the Bay (Part 1)

by

Each city has at least one icon of a hotel that has inextricably become part of that city’s history and heritage. And if there is one hotel in Manila that deserves that iconic tag, there is little doubt (if not none) that such honor will be granted to the so-called “Grand Dame by the Bay”: the Manila Hotel.

P6034205

Perhaps no stronger case can be cited with the intertwined histories of the city and its hotel than a glance at the hotel’s history, a part of what was supposed to be a grander masterplan by American architect Daniel Burnham for Manila in 1905 as a “City Beautiful.” The land where Manila Hotel stands today is actually reclaimed land, along with what is now known today as the South Harbor, Luneta “extension,” and nearby areas along a stretch of a coastal boulevard we know today as Roxas Boulevard. Burnham saw the importance of the Manila Bay to the city. Thus, he conceptualized the reclamation and the construction of the boulevard, and important structures that would highlight Manila’s connection to its bay; Manila Hotel would serve as centerpiece for that connection.

Read more

Heritage endangered: the old MERALCO Building at San Marcelino Street, Manila

by

Last weekend, the Internet and Manila’s heritage community was rocked with a shocking development: the demolition of a heritage structure along San Marcelino Street in Ermita, Manila near Adamson University. The structure in question being the old headquarters of MERALCO, or the Manila Electric Rail and Light Company as it was first known.

First established in 1903 from the franchise given by the American government to an American businessman named Charles Swift to operate the city’s planned electric tramways or tranvias, MERALCO established its first offices in San Marcelino 2 years later, serving as a depot of sorts for the tranvias they operate.

The MERALCO Head Office in San Marcelino during its heyday (courtesy of www.ivanhenares.com)

Read more

the Liwasan formerly known as Lawton

by

There are a few places I can think of as “complex” as Central Manila, which by itself is considered the city’s intersecting point. On one hand, this place is home to two of the city’s iconic landmarks: the Post Office Building and the Metropolitan Theater. On the flipside, it’s one of the most convoluted places in the city, overtowered by flyovers which doesn’t really help relieve the area from unbearable traffic especially during rush hour. Then there is the open, green space straddling between the Post Office and Metropolitan Theater, which is interesting in itself.

Back in the Spanish colonial era, this area was once known as part of Plaza Arroceros, by itself a large open, green space which extended all the way to the present Manila City Hall. It is also significant as it is located near the old Chinese quarters or Parian, where Chinese immigrants first settled and did their business before they were moved to present Binondo.

Read more