Quezon City Archives - Page 3 of 10

The “IT hub” in Gilmore Avenue

August 10, 2014October 6, 2012 by The Urban Roamer

The New Manila of the old, as was noted before, was mostly a residential enclave among the upper and middle class families. Whatever commercial activity there was in the area in those days were minimal and did not do much to alter the landscape of the neighborhood.

But in recent years, commercial activity in the area began to spike. Partly contributing to the commercial development is the influx of a new industry: the computer retailers that set businesses left and right mostly concentrated along that patch of road called Gilmore Avenue.*

*Interestingly, Gilmore Avenue was named after a person who had nothing to do with technology matters. It was named after an official during the American colonial period named Eugene Allen Gilmore, who served twice as acting governor general during the late 1920’s.

The residences of New Manila

May 26, 2014September 28, 2012 by The Urban Roamer

During the American colonial period in the Philippines, particularly during the 1920’s-1930’s, the country’s capital city Manila was experiencing unprecedented progress and commercial expansion. Along with it came the creeping problems brought about by such progress, though back then, they were as grave as they are today.

For Manila’s upper and middle class families, these changes brought out much stress that they consider moving to Manila’s outskirts or suburbs instead. This was not left unnoticed by the property developers of the time as they scrambled to develop what was then a vast wilderness found a few kilometers outside the city limits.

a new Magnolia rises

August 10, 2014September 7, 2012 by The Urban Roamer

It feels like it was yesterday when I wrote about 2 years ago about the old Magnoila Ice Cream House at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Doña Hemady Street that was being demolished at that time to make way for a residential-commercial development.

Fast-forward to today as residential-commercial property developer Robinsons Land Corp. unveiled the first phase of its planned development for the old Magnolia property, a 4-level, 108,000 sq. meter shopping mall dubbed as Robinsons Magnolia.

Pugad Lawin: where the revolution was born (or so they say)

September 2, 2019August 23, 2012 by The Urban Roamer

In the annals of Philippine history, no event has been depicted with such color as the “Cry of Pugad Lawin,” an event in which the formerly secret Katipunan movement of Andres Bonifacio decided to wage a revolt against the Spanish colonial government to gain independence. It was a bold decision symbolized by that bold act by the Katipuneros led by the movement’s Supremo (leader) Andres Bonifacio of tearing up their cedulas or residence certificates which were seen as a symbol of their subservience to Spain in a place called Pugad Lawin (Hawk’s Nest) on August 3, 1896. The rest, they say, is history, the Philippine Revolution in this particular case.

At the same time, no event has also brought so much controversy as this particular event. Even today, questions are still being raised about the veracity of the venue and date ever since these details were raised by Philippine historian Teodoro Agoncillo as the “definitive” information regarding ”the Cry.” (then known as the Cry of Balintawak, but then again, Pugad Lawin was considered before as part of the greater area of Balintawak which adds more confusion to an already-confusing issue) But we will let the historians carry on with the debate in this issue as the rest us will at least take the present facts presented to us as the “definitive” history.