Prior to the rise of Makati as the premier shopping district of the Philippines, the in place used to be at Escolta. Escolta is short street running parallel to the Pasig River and ends at the Sta. Cruz Church. It was Orchard Road before there was an Orchard Road. Escolta was where all the rich and famous were. Most of the buildings along the stretch of Escolta are still around and have been restored. Although it is no longer the shopping district it used to be a stroll along Escolta is still a very rewarding walk.
Working backwards from the Sta. Cruz Church at the Roman Santos Building, ignoring the filthy tributary of the Pasig River, you can come across a plethora of colonial era buildings. Among them were the Regina Building, the Burke Building and many others. These buildings have been a lot through the years, fortunately the city government has made it a point to preserve the charm of Escolta.
The mayor of Manila, Alfredo Lim in particular, yearns for the days where Escolta was still a great place to be in. Unfortunately, the projects have not been particularly successful. The latest project was a livelihood project where people can rent stalls built along the Pasig River, very near Escolta. It doesn’t seem to be doing very well either since there were not a lot of people buying there.
Most of the people passing through Escolta are students or office people. It seems that because of the presence of the Pamantasan Lungsod ng Maynila along Escolta may also hinder the development of more commercial establishments. Nevertheless, the charm of Escolta still stands and it is hoped the future mayors of Manila will continue improving and hopefully bring back the glory days of Escolta.
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i really appreciate the beauty of Escolta. the green building is the natividad building.
i agree, of course it could still be better. my friend once remarked how manila has this rustic feel not found in other philippines cities. i didn’t really knew what he meant until recently. large parts of manila still have this feel though it already giving way to “progress”. let’s hope that the mayor of manila can keep the spirit of escolta and manila alive.
thanks for visiting!
i really like this site, especially about manila. your post reminds me how wonderful this city is. is it safe to go in escolta?
as with any other city in the world, manila is not without its share of crime. i can tell you that i walk along escolta at night probably hundreds of times all without incident. however, because of its proximity to sta. cruz, there are a lot of vagrants in this area and it might come as a shock to anyone not used to this especially at night and thus might feel unsafe. you can always walk on the street if you feel unsafe though. there is a police outpost nearby so, it is unlikely anything untoward can happen. naturally, as with any other place, it would be best to keep your wits about you and you will be fine.
thanks for visiting again!