It’s been a long while since the Urban Roamer has last stepped in Manila Hotel. And during that time, a lot of things have changed: a new logo, new uniforms of the staff. But the ambiance of old Manila remains alive in the hotel.
My return that day though was for a somewhat different matter, which was to fully immerse myself in a filling buffet dining experience at the hotel’s main restaurant: Cafe Ilang-Ilang.
Recently, the Urban Roamer came across an interesting news item through one of Facebook groups dealing with Philippine heritage news and issues. The news item was actually part of a series of reports broadcasted on CNN Philippines last February that talked about the “restoration” of the old Ayuntamiento de Manila building to become the new home of the Bureau of the Treasury.
It would have been an interesting read, had not it been for the maliciously anti-heritage slant put forth by the report of Fiona Nicolas, which put the restoration as “costly” and that the Php 1.188B spent on this project would have been better spent elsewhere like poverty alleviations, housing, the usual stuff. As you can see, I am flustered and irritated with such commentaries. So let me devote space here to enlighten the people with the matters at hand.
The University of the Philippines is one institution that needs no introduction. Just mention UP and people express their awe to show how much they look up to this university, the country’s premier university where many of the country’s brightest minds sprang from.
UP’s status and prestige today makes one overlook how far it has come ever since it was established more than a century ago. Then again, not many know the story of the university’s early years, the struggles and the triumphs it encountered during that pioneering period in UP’s history. That was, until the Museum of a History of Ideas opened in UP’s Manila campus last October 22, 2014.
So much has been said about Escolta Street and its glory days as a premier center of commerce in Manila, its eventual fall from grace after World War II, and the current efforts to revitalize commercial activity here again. With the state of things in the city these days, such efforts are admittedly a tall order. Nevertheless, the work continues with much vigor and passion, thanks to the various groups and individuals with their unceasing love for Escolta and their common dream to see it reclaim its glory as Manila’s “queen of streets.”
One of those stakeholders happen to be the owners of the First United Building, the Syliantengs whose have been deeply rooted in Escolta beginning with their patriarch, Sy Lian Teng, an entrepreneur who ran Escolta’s (and Manila’s as well) premiere department store, Berg’s. As a tribute to Escolta’s heritage, the Sylianteng family’s passion for Escolta, and to honor the legacy of the patriarch who has made an invaluable contribution to this street, a community museum was opened last May 16 this year in the premises of the building: the First United Building Community Museum.
