A "Flash Tour" of Escolta: In Honor of the Soon-to-be-Demolished Capitol Theater

- September 15, 2017, Friday.

- As a Manileno from the downtown area, Manila's historical areas are within my reach. Chances are, I've probably even visited them quite a few (or a lot) of times in my life. However, going around ever-changing Manila never ceases to bore me. Something's always happening, something's always changing. More importantly, there are some things that go away forever. One of these things is Manila's Capitol Theater.

- My mom told me two weeks ago about the news that the government gave a go signal to demolish Escolta's Capitol Theater. It didn't take long before my architect friends started telling me or posting their grievances online. Though the theater has been closed for a few decades now as people gradually favored cinemas inside malls, the Capitol Theater remains to be one of structures in Manila that was a witness to the city's history in the last century. (More on the theater later.)

- As a way to "mourn" over the building's fate, I decided to revisit Escolta once more. After all, I also realized that I had not visited Escolta in the last 4 to 5 years, so I thought it would be a good excuse to revisit this once-flamboyant-now-quiet part of downtown Manila.

- As what can be read in the countless articles and blogs written about Escolta, one would know that Escolta Street is one of the earliest streets in Manila - it existed since the Spanish colonial era in the 1500s - which eventually became the business hub of Manila.The word "Escolta" came from Spanish word "escoltar" or "to escort;" this refers to the Spanish-colonial-era practice of having escorts that would accompany the "gobernador-general" (governor-general) from Intramuros when he would pass through that street. Escolta is located in the district of Binondo, and so it is not a surprise why this street is so close to Manila's Chinatown - the oldest Chinatown in the world. The origins of the street's fame has its roots in the Galleon Trade; Escolta is located along the banks of the Pasig River, which is a subsidiary of the Manila Bay, and so foreign goods easily found their way in the stores that lined Escolta back then.

Streets of Escolta.

- Escolta eventually lost its glamor after the business hubs were relocated all over Metro Manila (hello Makati and Pasig, and you too, Bonifacio Global City.) Thankfully, there are different organizations that push for Escolta's renaissance. True enough, there were new, awesome, and artsy things in Escolta for its visitors.

- One thing I like about Escolta that it's just a straight line (since it is a street,) and so it is hard to get lost. Since I had little time (thanks to the earlier sunset of the -ber months) to go around after doing errand in Divisoria's fabric market in Ilaya that early afternoon, the fact that the street is one straight line made it easy for me to do my quick stroll along Escolta.

- My route was from west to east (from Binondo side to the entrance of Santa Cruz.) My first stop was the El Hogar Building at the end of Juan Luna Street and along the Pasig River; it is a common backdrop of many commercials in the Philippines. It is an American-Era building built in 1914 in the beaux-arts style (i.e. a combination of many traditional/classical styles, among other characteristics.) It was a wedding gift to Margarita Zobel de Ayala, and was used as an office building.

El Hogar.

Had to choose a shirt that looked "retro." (It is made from vintage Indonesian batik that my grandmother never got to use when she was still alive. No, we're not Indonesian, just the fabric. Hahahaha.)

- After walking from Juan Luna to Escolta (passing by the two giant Chinatown arches,) I found a nice spot to see the Manila Central Post Office across the river. It was close to the Commercial Bank and Trust Company Building (built 1965,) which, I have calling the "UFO Buidling" for obvious reasons.

Manila Central Post Office, built in 1926 in the neoclassical style.

I'm quite happy that the river's garbage doesn't show much (though the river still needs a lot more cleaning despite improvements to its cleanliness throughout the decades.)

UFO!!

HELLOWWWWW.

- A short walk from the "UFO Building" is the Capitol Theater. It was built in the 1930s in the art deco style (i.e. what I'd describe as a playful combination of modern, exotic, and geometric.) It was designed by national artist Juan Nakpil, the son of Julio Nakpil and Gregoria de Jesus, the widow of Andres Bonifacio. (This family is connected to the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista in Quiapo; click here to see the interior of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista.) My mom would tell me over and over again how she would watch movies here when she was a lot younger, especially when it would show Chinese movies. It was convenient for her and her family since they lived in Chinatown back then.

So long.

It is said that this theater was supposed to look like a Mesopotamian ziggurat (sort of like Mesopotamia's version of the pyramid.)

A Filipina in traditional clothes.

Other side of the facade.

- Despite the news of its demolition, my mom told me that I am not supposed to mourn much, since the new building that will rise in the place of Capitol Theater was ordered to retain the building's facade - perfectly. (This popular method of preserving and repurposing old buildings is, not surprisingly, called "facadism.") Of course, time will only tell how perfectly the facade will be retained.

- I had a brief ice cream stop to cool off at the Big Scoop ice cream parlor since I had been walking almost nonstop since I left my house after lunch (it was almost early evening when I had ice cream.) Walking further down the street, I passed by good ol' Calvo Building, which is frequently visited mainly because Uno Seafood Wharf Palace (a Chinese restaurant) is at the building's ground floor. The Calvo Building was built in 1938 in the beaux-arts style, and it used to house banks, law firms, a restaurant, and even the DZBB-AM radio station; this is GMA Network's flagship AM radio station.)

I think this is clear enough? ("Edificio" is Spanish for "building.")

Main hallway.

Calvo Building today.

Details of the building

- Today, apart from offices inside the building, it also houses the humble Calvo Museum. It was past closing time when I arrived, but I was able to visit it before. (I'm placing a photo I took a few years ago, for reference.) The small museum has antique bottle collections, as well as photos and other memorabilia from Manila's glorious past.

Inside the Calvo Museum, taken 2011.

- Finally, at the Sta. Cruz side of Escolta are the famed Regina Building and First United Building. The neoclassical beaux-arts Regina Building, built in 1915,  used to house insurance companies, but now houses freight forwarding companies. (More on the First United Building later.)

Escolta at sunset (left: Regina Building, right: First United Building.)

- Across the small bridge and right around the corner near the two buildings, one can find the Roman R. Santos Building, a surviving pre-World War II neoclassical building (built in 1894), mainly known for housing a branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands at the ground floor. The Roman R. Santos Building is the face of Plaza Lacson, the plaza close to the LRT 1-Carriedo Station. The plaza was the heart of downtown Manila, and were the central terminal of the now-defunct tram system of Manila in the early 1900s was found.

At the back side of the Roman R. Santos Building.

Such a beauty.

- On the way back, I chanced upon the newly-opened art hub of the First United Building. This art deco building was built by Andres Luna de San Pedro, the son of Juan Luna, in 1928. It used to house various offices (and still does,) as well as a department store called Berg's Department Store. Now, the space that once was this department store is where the Saturday Market is held (I should visit this Saturday market soon, I heard it has a lot of artsy stuff and antiques!!) Also, there is a new art/bazaar space called "Hub: Make Lab" as well as a coffee shop inside it called "The Den." Had I known that there was a museum at the second floor of the building, I would have gone to check it out too. (In hindsight, it would have been closed by the time I arrived.)

At the building's ground floor.

A cultural hipster's paradise.

Lost in a jungle of art.

Some of the oldest elevators in Manila.

Stairs inside First United.

- I am sure that I did not cover all the buildings in Escolta, and if I had more time (maybe the whole day!!) I would have checked out more stuff in Escolta. However, I must say that going back to Escolta for a cultural stroll after many years (rather than just seeing the street from our car's window when passing by it) brought back a lot of memories. Of course, not memories of Escolta in its heyday (though that would be interesting,) but rather memories of when I was just starting to rediscover Manila during my college days, or visiting Escolta with friends who are also interested in history and culture. As for my mom and the other "oldies" of Manila who have experienced the glitz of Escolta, seeing Escolta brings back memories of going around the street such as shopping in the numerous stores (my mom always tells me about buying shoes in Sybel's) or watching films in Capitol Theater during the holidays or special occasions. Although Escolta today is far from what it was back then, and with buildings of historical and cultural value like Capitol Theater are being demolished one by one, in the end, what we will be left with are memories that people strive to keep alive, as well as tangible things that continue to stand the test of time.