It has been a while since the Urban Roamer last visited the historic district of Santa Ana in Manila. At that time, the series was written based on the Urban Roamer’s scant knowledge of district as gathered from third party sources. Over time, I have gotten to learn some new things about this district, most especially recently thanks to my interaction with people who know a great deal about the district itself, not to mention the opportunity to explore more in depth at least parts of it thanks to my work as a volunteer for the Cultural Heritage Mapping Project of Wikimedia Philippines supported by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. That…
-
-
Manila’s Hidden Fortress
Whenever the subject of Manila’s fortifications is discussed, automatically Fort Santiago is the one that first comes to mind. After all, it is the most well-known city fortification that has not only managed to survive the centuries, but also rose to become a popular tourist destination. But hidden south of the city lies another historic fortification, smaller and understandably overlooked these days considering its current location. This is the Fort San Antonio Abad, Manila’s hidden fort that lies between the imposing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas buildings and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.
-
Meet The Other Met
When one says something about the Met in Manila, it actually would mean either of the two locations in the city. The Urban Roamer has already introduced you to one of them, the Metropolitan Theater. Today, we shall get ourselves acquainted with the other Met, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. Despite the name, the Met Museum here is not actually associated with the more famous Met Museum found in New York. And to be honest, the Met Museum of Manila is not as prominent as other museums in the city. Nevertheless, it has its own charms which makes it an interesting museum to check out.
-
The Admiral Hotel and Anchor Land’s Deception
Lately, Philippine heritage, most especially Manila heritage, has come under attack no less thanks to big developers who aim to “redevelop” those structures into something more…modern and commercially viable. And unfortunately in a number of cases, “redevelopment” for them means: “we’ll tear this old, historic building down and build something modern that is devoid of historic value, heritage be damned.” That may be the way of thinking developer Anchor Land has when it has decided to demolish the almost 80-year old Admiral Hotel and build a new structure which would be a boutique hotel that will, in their words, “keep its heritage alive and ensure that it remains as a historical…