I've gotten a lot of request to post more photos of
Manila during the 1950's to the 1970's. I've done some search from the source of the photos I posted from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee archive.
It was a joy to search for these photos and it really shows how beautiful Manila was in the 1950s to the 1970s.
This is Manila Cathedral when the photo was taken in 1968. Here you can see the dome of the cathedral as the photo was taken from the back. The dome is now colored blue-green but it was black back then.
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| Manila Cathedral |
Aerial view of Manila - Port Area.
One thing you'll notice in these photos is the lack of garbage on the streets. Also, there's no road construction. Just look at the quality of the roads, it's all flat and concrete. Not even a crack or broken sidewalks.
What's interesting is that even though there's a lot of shanties in the photo, you can see that they still kept the are very clean.
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| Manila Port Area |
Manila - Port area with view of the Pasig River. Can you believe how clean it looks?
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| Pasig River |
Pasig river when it was the heart of the city for trade and transportation. Look, no trash!
You can also see the FGU Insurance Group building. FGU Insurance Group was one of the older insurance companies in the country. FGU was acquired by BPI in 1999 when the bank merged with Ayala Insurance Holdings.
It's also nice to see the billboard of that era. The signs weren't made with cloth so winds won't blow them away. It's also interesting to see what the old logos were of the companies and brands we know today like Shell and Royal Tru-Orange.
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| Pasig River |
The Pasig River used to be a main thoroughfare for cargoes and people. It helps to decongest the city and should be used extensively again so we can avoid all the big trucks clogging the streets.
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| Pasig River |
Echague in the 1930s. Notice the Balintawak Beer Brewery signage in the background, the one just to the right of the orange International sign and is facing backwards. This sign is facing Rizal Avenue. Echague has since been renamed Carlos Palanca Street.
P. Blanco Street does not exist in the current street maps although it was already P. Blanco since 1898. The current roadway has no name. Villalobos is the next street down and faces Quiapo Church. The yellow sign pointing to "Villalobos" was merely a traffic sign to guide motorist since Villalobos was likely a one way street as is P.Blanco. The photographer was standing next to Quinta Market just under the present Quezon Bridge.
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| Echague |
Calesas before it was replaced by pedicabs. I'm not sure where this is but it looks like somewhere in Binondo.
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| Calesa |
Here are various photos of students in Manila during the 1960's.
This is St. Joseph's Academy in Las Piñas, Rizal.
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| St. Joseph's Academy, Las Piñas, Rizal |
High school students working on their science projects.
Student fashion of the time. Notice how all the hemline of the dresses fall below the knees.
University student making a transformer. Most likely an electrical engineering student.
Below you can see Mechanical Engineering students of FEATI University learning about engine the Roll-Royce V-1650-7 Aircraft Engine. Filipinos are considered one of the best trained
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| Mechanical Engineering Students at FEATI University |
Below is a student and teacher at Don Bosco Technical Institute.
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| Student and Teacher at Don Bosco Technical Institute |
Here are several photos of Fort Santiago. Don't you just love how they are planted with beautiful flowers and grass? We hardly see that now in concrete Manila.
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| Fort Santiago |
Guided tour of the the dungeons in Fort Santiago.
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| Fort Santiago Dungeons Tour |
Fort Santiago entrance before restoration.
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| Fort Santiago Entrance |
And finally, Rizal Memorial. People actually go out to enjoy the sun because the weather was cooler back then.
Also, notice how the monument looks majestic with the clear blue sky behind it especially if you're standing right below it.
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| Rizal Monument |
This is the last time you'll see it in this glory as the background is now covered by a new building called "Torre de Manila" behind it. This is how it looks now. The new building basically permanently photobombed the Rizal Monument.
Will we ever see Manila as beautiful as this again?
You can find he link to the original photos from the
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Libraries Digital Collections.
Comments
If you would look at areas outside Manila around this time, the condition was relatively dire as now. Lack of health and sanitation facilities, and other infrastructure.
Still, it boils down to the fact that the Philippines is a fabricated state, and we're all just using pseudo nationalistic ideals to make everyone believe that we're fair enough to be one people.
We have to face the question of why are we aggregated as one legal territory in the first place? Because we were altogether colonized by Spain? I don't think so. That our collective colonial identity was established by America? Blame Aguinaldo for that.
My allegiance will always be afloat. I'd rather waste my efforts in helping my OWN PEOPLE. Those people whom I belong with etholinguistically.
The Filipino has long been dead.
To everyone else, I say we take our frustrations or sadness and channel them to constructive use. change after all, starts with us, too.
Change will occur if filipinos learn how to follow. From the politicians to the very workforce of this nation. Political dynasties should be purged,and be replaced with new fresh minds with the intent to help our country rise again,not some asshole who is someones disciple who will just continue his master's dirty work. Change will occur if the philippines will learn how to control its inflating population,our lands can only provide so much for us,but abuse it and it will never give enough. The gap of the rich to the middle classes are too far. One example is simple taxation. Imagine a practising doctor at a private hospital who earns millions a year and just pays 60k a year,while a teacher who earns just a meager 25k a year gets taxed more than that. The system is rotten,change is really needed or the same rotten cycle will just go on and on.
I still hope that there is still something good that will happen. I still believe there can be change. And i hope,even if i wont see this,i hope my children will be able to live in a prosperous new philippines.
ang mga Manileno ay naawa sa kanila at pinabayang dumami. ito ang resulta ngayon. nakawan, patayan,lahat lahat na kaya nawala ang the most beautiful city in asia. ang mga squatters ay naging proffessional squatters. binigyan sila ng bahay at lupa sa ibang lugar. pero balik pa rin sila. kaya iba sa kanila ay may 3 o 4 na bahay na sa mga relokasyong area.