Aerials from the '60s & '70s

The feature two weeks ago on aerials of Manila from the postwar period brought a whole bunch of e-mails from readers. They came from far and wide, from stateside Pinoys, and even from a masteral student taking his urban design degree from my post-graduate alma mater, the National University of Singapore.

This week, I am featuring another batch of aerial images from the 1960s and the ‘70s, a 20-year period when Metro Manila (then called Greater Manila) was still one of the most progressive metropolises in Asia.

First is a picture of old Manila’s central business district of Binondo and Sta. Cruz looking west toward the south pier area. The Pasig River figures prominently in the picture since the district grew out of the access of both banks (or muelles) to lighters (cascoes), which brought goods from the provinces and foreign shores to Manila. When will we get our beloved Pasig back?

Next, we have an aerial of the CCP in the early ‘70s. The main theater was the only building completed of the planned multi-structure complex. The picture shows the adjacent site just recently reclaimed from the sea. Across are two tall structures, the Legazpi Towers 300 by architect Manuel Mercado and what would become the first Holiday Inn Manila by Carlos Arguelles. The CCP is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, which I will feature at length in a future article soon.

From the bay, we go to the eastern edge of the metropolis and the suburban heartland of Cubao. The intersection of Highway 54 and Aurora Boulevard was a way station midway to Marikina and between the Shaw/Ortigas district and the vast grasslands of the Quezon City quadrangle. The landmark since the late ‘50s until today is, of course, the Araneta’s Big Dome. I would vote for the coliseum as an iconic structure that makes Metro Manila distinctive as a city. What would we have been if we did not have Bb. Pilipinas, the Beach Boys, Ateneo versus La Salle, or Holiday on Ice?

Back on EDSA heading south, we pass by the Tektite field we now know as the Ortigas Center. It was not yet the business district we are familiar with. There was just a wide, open expanse with well-paved concrete roads and a sprinkling of buildings. The buildings took a while to be built and the area was a favorite setting for drag races and even a formula car race was held at least once in the early ‘70s before the oil crisis.

The key structures in the area were the Ortigas building, the Meralco building (which we featured earlier), the Philcomsen building (now in ruins and in danger of toppling over anytime), the two Strata buildings (erected using the unique “lift-slab” building technology), the Poveda School (known originally as Teresiana), and the Manila Chronicle building, which is now the Benpres building.

Further down EDSA is an aerial of the stretch heading towards the then narrow Guadalupe Bridge. This Mandaluyong district was a light industrial zone accessed through Pioneer St. Here, manufacturers made medicine (United Laboratories), batteries, chocolate bars and drinks, and assembled tractors (International Harvester). The image shows what is today the Robinsons Pioneer complex and up in the top left open space is now the Shangri-La Plaza Mall and Hotel and SM Megamall.

Back to Manila, we end with an aerial of the Anda Circle. This grand rotunda has a monument to Simón de Anda y Salazar, a Spanish governor general of the Philippines in the late 1700s. The monument was originally at the riverside beside the Intramuros’ Fort Santiago, where the Del Pan Bridge now springs off from. It was moved to its present site as the bridge was built. The offices of The Philippine STAR are just past the gate to the left just as you enter the Port Area district. Manila had many of these magnificent roundabouts. I wish we had them back.

All these aerials are a pictorial history of our urban development. It is important to be able to literally take a step back and see the physical evolution of our metropolis. A bird’s-eye-view gives us perspective and context. It would be great if we could revisit the vantage points from where these pictures were taken and take current shots to be able to really see the changes —good or bad.

If we don’t step back we can’t see our way forward. This is true of city development as it is of our journey to progress and modernity. Now, I need to buy me a helicopter.

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Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com.