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Then & Now - Prudential Bank

September 2, 2008

If you go to Carriedo in Sta. Cruz, you will definitely see this building just right beside the Sta. Cruz church. This building is the Roman Santos building, founder of the Prudential Bank.

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(Photo after WW2)

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(Sept. 2008 Photo)

This building was a witness to the area’s rich history. During the World War II, this portion of Sta Cruz was devastated from the attacks made by the Japanese forces. The building was slightly damaged during the war, but was still standing after many years, surviving different tragedies. Currently, South Supermarket is occupying the building.

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Then and Now - Carriedo Street

Carriedo street connects the two major districts of Manila, Quiapo and Sta. Cruz.

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(Photo before the construction of LRT in 1970s)

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(Sept. 2008 Photo)

The left building in the old photo is still present today, the building at the right is now the Isetann Department Store, and the former Great Eastern Hotel. The hotel was demolished during 1980s to give way to the construction of the LRT.

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Then and Now - Plaza Goiti, Sta Cruz

I took the shot last Saturday, as I was standing at the foot of MacArthur Bridge, I noticed that the area was not that clean, but compared the last time when I went to the place, I think the cleanliness in the area was better than before.

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(Postcart - Plaza Goiti, Before WW2)

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(Sept. 2008 Photo)

This plaza is located at the back of Sta. Cruz church in Carriedo street. Before the Second World War, this portion was once became a station of the Manila Tranvia. This place was renamed to Plaza Lacson, dedicated to the former mayor of Manila, A. H. Lacson.

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Avenida - Manila Grand Opera Hotel

During my travel last August 30, I came back to the site where the Manila Grand Opera House stood. I was amazed with this new structure constructed right beside the LRT Doroteo Jose station. I’m lucky because I didn’t expect that the new multimillion-peso hotel will be inaugurated on the same day.

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(Inauguration Day - Aug. 30, 2008)

The inauguration was attended by the president herself, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the first gentleman Mike Arroyo and some senators as special guests, among them Senate President Manny Villar, and Senators Loren Legarda and Aquilino Pimentel.

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Some of the performers were Asia’s queen of songs, Pilita Corrales, who sang some old songs together with Nolyn Cabahug. Before the celebration, street dancers performed in front of the hotel in Doroteo Jose street that made the celebration more festive.

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(Street Dancers, Banner)

The inauguration also served as the celebration of the owner, Cabangon Chua’s birthday. The opera house, which by the 60s had been transformed into a movie theater, was acquired by Cabangon Chua from the heirs of Don Toribio Teodoro. Cabangon Chua was better known then as a movie-house magnate, with 30 theaters under his belt.

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(Aug. 30, 2008 Photo)

The eight-story hotel has a Figaro coffee shop on the first floor and a Chinese restaurant with a chef imported from Hong Kong. In front of the hotel, another significant structure was demolished, the old Mapua Institute of Technology building was finally converted into a large provincial bus parking lot.

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(Aug. 30, 2008 Photos)

I never thought that someone would try to invest a multi-million peso hotel in this area of Manila, however, I hope that the opening of this deluxe hotel will also start modernizing the structures of the area, and I hope that the government should also preserve the historical significance of these historical structures.

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