20 Photos of Escolta Through the Years
Aside from Intramuros, an area that's rich with history in Manila is Escolta Street. The land where Escolta stands today was owned by José Dámaso Gorricho, and it got its start as a business district during the late 1800s. From movie theaters to department stores, the street has been the location of many defining establishments in Manila's history. See photos of Escolta Street through the years below.
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An early photo of the historic Manila street
1878.
Escolta under Spanish rule
Calle Escolta corner Soda Street
1890s.
Escolta in 1899
According to antique photo collector John Tewell, the photo shows Escolta as a business street "lined with buildings with tile roofs, awnings shade lower stories, second stories overhang first floors with balconies and sliding window-gratings. Street filled with barouches."
Another view from the 1890s
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A busy street scene in the early 20th century
The building on the left is one of the references for Paseo de Escolta in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar.
Clarke's, the first ice cream shop in the Philippines was on No. 2 in Escolta
The photo also shows the first electric tranvias which were installed in 1905.
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The same view of the west end of Escolta
Another view of 'Paseo de Escolta'
Busy traffic with cars, carriages and street car on the street
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The Cu-Unjieng Building on Escolta which housed Ideal Bazar
A movie theater showing Private Affairs starring Nancy Kelley, Bob Cummings, Hugh Herber, and Roland Young
1940s.
Heacock's Department Store
Taken a few days before the Japanese bombed Manila, shoppers browse inside the store during Christmastime.
American sailors with Jones Bridge and Pasig River on the right
Today, the Ateneo Innovation Center and Philippine National Bank stand on the site.
Escolta in 1945 after the Japanese bombing
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A closer look at the destruction
A reconstructed Escolta in the 1950s
With Berg's Department Store in the Perez-Samanillo Building in the back.
Escolta corner Enrique T. Yuchengco Street
A shopping scene in the '60s
Escolta during the 1970s
With Capitol Theater playing The Mercenaries starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, and Peter Carsten.
