If you find yourself somewhere in the middle of Manila’s “University Belt” in Sampaloc disttrict, you may have chanced upon this nicely-preserved American-era building and some fresh patch of green which is a welcome sight in the midst of the area’s frentic activity and some unfortunately-dilapidated structures nearby. For someone who had often roamed around U-Belt back in college, I have always wondered about this structure. I was lucky to have gotten access to this place and appreciate this preserved heritage of old Manila in Sampaloc. The story behind this building began in 1905, (some sources however say it’s 1907) when industrialist and philanthropist Teodoro Yangco and a group of…
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Manila’s Flower Market: a place called Dangwa
Come Valentines or All Saints Day, this part of Manila is bustling with activity. Then again, this particular area is always busy with commercial activity, though not as frantic as the aforementioned occasions. Of course, I am referring here to Manila’s “Flower Market” or the “Bulaklakan ng Maynila,” but known more to locals as “Dangwa:” the name of the passenger bus transport company which used to transport the flowers there which come all the way from the Cordillera highlands in the northern part of the country. While Dangwa no longer seems to ply to and from the city, the memory of these buses carrying the flowers to be sold persist…
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Heritage endangered: the old MERALCO Building at San Marcelino Street, Manila
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.
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Rizal Park, Part 7: celebrations and grandstandings at the Quirino Grandstand
Having been elevated into prominence as Manila’s (as well as the country’s) definitive landmark by the American colonial era, it comes as no surprise that Rizal Park a favored spot for parades, athletic events, and special events like the famed Manila Carnival. These events used to be held at what was known as Wallace Field, located east of the Rizal Monument, approximately where the Binhi sculpture & the Heidelberg Fountain are now located. Fast-forward to the year 1946. A year had passed since Manila suffered from utmost destruction brought about the by the war, more particularly during the Battle for Manila. As a a nation was trying to get its…