The best way to enjoy water and the wonders of sea creatures is by diving into the sea. Most of us though are desk and office-bound and taking time off to scuba-dive in our rich (but sometimes endangered) waters is a luxury few can afford. There are (or were) alternatives in Manila that I remember from my childhood. (How come childhood memories are almost always pleasant, the world always less complicated, and ice cream cones always larger than they are today?)
One of the first things the Americans built after they filled the moats of Intramuros was an aquarium. Our new colonial masters were quick to set up scientific studies on our natural resources – the better to gauge what they paid $20 million to Spain for. The island’s treasure of minerals, timber, crops and fish was surveyed and mapped. Offshoots of these scientific studies were educational displays in botanic gardens and zoos (the Mehan Garden and the Cemeterio del Norte, which served as a city nursery, too). The fish were gathered at a new facility in one of the bastions of the Intramuros beside Puerta Real.
The Manila Aquarium was set up in 1913 and was a favorite subject of picture postcards and tourist brochures. The aquarium became a standard must-see destination for pre-war tourists and it was very popular with Manileños as well. The tranvia passed nearby and access was easy (a hint to planners of such amenities today).
The aquarium’s fascinating collection of marine life was housed in 27 large tanks that were a marvel of engineering as the fish were biological wonders. A guidebook from that era described the "many brightly colored and curious fishes and other sea-specimen found in Philippine waters, also a cage of pythons captured on the (islands)." Sadly, the amenity was destroyed during the liberation of Manila in 1945. The fish probably ended up as food for those caught in the fighting.
After the war, the aquarium was revived and eventually became a prime attraction again as the Luneta and Rizal Park were developed in the 1960s. School excursions were organized to the aquarium and the Manila Zoo. (The Balara filters were another earlier favorite; it also boasted its own aquarium.) The Zonta Club further improved its facilities and it lasted into the 1970s.
At the same time, Doroy Valencia and his landscape architects were fixing up Rizal Park with promenades, lawns, statuary and water features. Aside from the central pool, there was one feature that always caught my eye – the waterfalls. Located on a traffic island this oasis of plants and falling water magically hid traffic and smog from jeepneys. I guess it was the sound and sight of cascading water that provided "white noise" to cover the less desirable aspects of this corner of the park. The feature was so popular and memorable that three postcards were issued of it, from different angles.
The falls were on the way to the aquarium and Intramuros, which is why they stuck to my memory. But, as they say in television shopping channels, that’s not all! In the 1960s a mini golf circuit was built, making a triangle of features that had fish, falls and fun all in one.
The three facilities started a fad as everyone started to build aquariums, artificial waterfalls, and mini golf parks (like the one in Cubao where Ali Mall now stands). But like all fads this did not last long. The mini golf lost out to the larger variety. The waterfalls seem to still be there but the smog and pollution are so great no one sees it anymore (the Orchidarium nearby is a better place to visit). The aquarium fell to disrepair and had to wait till 1998 for a revival. Between the 1980s and the 1990s, plays and presentations at the Puerto Real served to interest people but the tranvias disappeared after the war and access was difficult (it still is because of all that container traffic from the ports, a situation that can be solved by transferring the ports altogether or reviving freight rail service).
The whole area needs a facelift today and a renovation of the entire district including the Intramuros, the port area and the Rizal Park. The current management of the park is doing a yeoman’s job just keeping it clean while the Intramuros is still dodgy despite corners of WOW. The whole district smells fishy because of lack of integration of improvement projects of the Intramuros administration, the Manila City government and the Department of Tourism, which runs the park through the National Parks Development Committee. Different jurisdictions convolute the entire predicament and it would make sense to turn the whole district over to Manila with the support of the DOT/NPDC. What’s needed too is people’s support and that magic word: funds.
Well, the whole country is fishy if you ask me. It’s too much politics. Maybe there are not enough aquariums and mini golf links to divert our attention.
One fish sandwich, please!