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. 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…
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Manila’s First Flyover
It is said that during the late 1930’s, at a time when Manuel Quezon served as President of the self-governing Philippine Commonwealth, he was keeping a mistress who lived in what was then the affluent district of Santa Mesa. So he would pay her a visit from time to time on a strict timeframe, something which was of convenience as well since he also maintained a residence in the area. (as well as some other prominent Filipinos during the prewar period) One day however, in one of those visits, Quezon and his entourage was stopped by a passing train along the railroad tracks that intersected Santa Mesa Boulevard. Being in…
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roaming the streets: Pandacan’s Jesus and Otis
No other thoroughfares have long defined the district of Pandacan in Manila than the twin streets of Jesus and the former Otis, now known as Paz M. Guanzon. Divided by Quirino Avenue, these two streets are actually part of a single road networks that serves to connect Pandacan to the nearby districts of the city. Named after the patron of the district, the Holy Child, Jesus is one of the districts oldest thoroughfares where many of the district’s landmarks are located. Apart from what have been written previously, along this road can be found a city government’s housing project called the Residencias de Manila and across it the charity organization…
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Intramuros on a Segway
For a long while, a tour around the Walled City of Intramuros would normally involve a ride in one of the city’s oldest modes of transport: the trusty old calesa. But with time and technology catching up in this historic part of the city, the Intramuros experience just got itself enhanced. Thanks to the folks behind the first hotel in Intramuros, the White Knight Hotel located right across San Agustin Church, (AKA the oldest church in the country) they introduced in March this year a unique Intramuros tour experience which they dubbed, quite appropriately, the Electric Chariot tour. The electric chariot in question here unfortunately does not involve robot horses…