The City of Manila

[renell]

it should be also be able to stand even when Atienza leaves office. a mayors legacy should be for as long as it can be, not just during in his term. then maybe he deserves a statue along Baywalk..

[bagel]

They'll have a hard time making floral prints out of bronze for a statue.

[weirdo]

Originally Posted by renell

another problem is that if another mayor takes over, there's a chance that he/she won't look at these places.

the slogan of atienza's opponent,lopez, is 'tao muna' meaning that he would be more concerned generally on the welfare of individuals. he would probably deal with stuff like crime, health, education, etc. not bad. however if he wins (i doubt this cos atienza is very popular) he must at least be concerned about this 'revitalizing manila' thing. because it will be very fine to have discipllined and cultured folks in a well maintained city...i have to go now.

[ryanr]

I think there should be a balance of welfare projects as well as city development projects. People say that Atienza is more of a city development mayor rather than a welfare one. What he is doing right now is great, but he should also introduce more crime, health, education, etc projects.

[JudeD]

Well, it's also simple economics (or Simcity :-). For a city to fund its welfare projects it need income from taxes. The more businesses and commerical activity a city attracts, the more income it gets. Infrastructure projects and tourist attractions attract business and consumer spending, thus bringing in more income for welfare projects and other municipal spending. Ever since the Buhayin Ang Maynila project has been implemented, don't you think it's more encouraging to set up shop in Manila now, as compared to say, Pasay?

And as far as I know, the Ospital ng Maynila, Pamantasan ng Maynila, and Manila Science High School are running just fine. The only problem though is that the city's population far outstrips their capacity, but that's a problem everywhere in the country.

[renell]

Aitenza has done a good job in revitalizing most of Manila, but it is for tourism mostly, he should revitalize the whole of Manila, fixing roads, creating more parks, etc. The Manila stretch of Sergio Osmena Highway is a shame. and like ryan said, crime, health and education is also vital, for it keeps the tourism projects he started safe and well maintained.

[ryanr]

I think it is DPWH and MMDA's job to repair Osmena Highway...not his. He could push for it though...

[weirdo]

maybe he means to say the things around the road-the infrastructure, greenery and all that stuff that adds appeal to the area. osmeña highway looks dull and boring, too old, too generic, depressing...

ospital ng maynila and other public manila hospitals are ok i guess. plm and masci are good institutions that produce some of the best highsch and college grads. yea. the city needs more of these institutions.

btw, lito atienza's leading in manila. it's not yet final but he'll probably just widen the gap later.

on the presidentiables- chinatown voted for lacson. really solid vote. good for them. i dunno who's leading here though. fpj is really strong in manila. gma too for atienza's on the same party. no idea. i can only see some more manila candidates in the namfrel station here.

[JudeD]

Well, the northbound side of Osmena borders the railroad tracks, which is the PNR's domain. The center island is also still the jurisdiction of DPWH since it's a highway. I don't think they plan to improve that na since if the Skyway project moves forward then they're going to dig up the center island anyway. Well, there is that huge squatters colony (Looban) near where Osmena hits Quirino. I guess politicians rely on a lot of votes from the people there so they try not to shake thigns up. As for attractions, on osmena corner Quirino there's the popular and big Designer Depot complex, and if only San Jose Builders (who also built the housing developments along the railroad side, a Ramos project) didn't go bankrupt, the Paco Station Mall would have been a welcome addition to the area, ala-Tutuban CenterMall.

By the way if you can go to Harrison Plaza (malapit ka na dun weirdo diba?), they're holding an exhibit of all the development projects within the city. Inspiring naman. Medyo ironic lang their display on heritage preservation, considering what happened to the Jai Alai, Meisic Cuartel, and what they plan to do to Mehan Gardens. They do show the Arguelles building and Escolta though.

[renell]

you gain some, you lose some. unfortunately we had to lose the imp't buildings...but then again, all classical buildings are important, a reminder to the future generation of the past

[SunKing]

Some pictures of Manila:
De La Salle University:


The colonnade of the Philam Life Center (this building is beautiful, a blast from the past):


1322 Roxas Boulevard:


The Ramon Magsaysay Center:


Grand Boulevard Hotel:


Hyatt Regency Manila:


Not in Manila but...
Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (the lawn has been cordoned off, no more people doing aerobics ):

Asean Sparke:

Not by me but this is just beautiful:

[JudeD]

You were at Ramon Magsaysay? That's just in front of where I live! I quite like that building, it's modern but it follows classical lines (does that make it postmodern?). I also like PhilAmLife, it kinda reminds me of the InsularLife building along Ayala (same architect ba? their porticos are very similar). It's where UP Manila welcomes incoming freshmen and where the UP College of Medicine holds its variety show every year.

As for the CCP, my feelings about it are mixed. From afar and certain angles, it's quite grand and imposing. But up close it doesn't hold up as well. For one thing, the surface of the building is a really ugly pebblewash. It's so 70s (the decade of pebblewash buildings). If I had my way with it, I'd cover up the surface of the building with metal sheets. Like the way the Guggenheim Bilbao is covered in Titanium. Kahit galvanized aluminum lang, I think it'll really improve how the CCP looks like and make it look less dated and more timeless. I'm really not a big fan of Locsin. I thought the old Ayala Museum's exterior (another pebblewash building) was really ugly.

And by the way, Hyatt is in Pasay. Along Roxas, shortly after you pass the Traders Hotel you're out of Manila and already in Pasay.

A few more Manila updates:

While on my way to the LRT2 Legarda station from Malate I passed by Mehan Garden and saw that they had totally demolished the fence surrounding it. If this is to replace it with a new fence then I'm all for it because the old fence was really decrepit na. I hope it's not because they plan to destroy the garden! Wala pa silang clearance from the National Historical Institute!

On the side of the Metropolitan Theatre naman they've now put up a big billboard with a big picture of Atienza saying: "Buhayin Ang Metropolitan Theatre: Teatro Ng Masa, Coming Soon." Now this is REALLY GREAT news. And they've also set-up the "Buhayin Ang Maynila" exhibit at Robinsons Place Ermita now so you can also see it there and not just at Harrison.

[renell]

Ramon Magsaysay building is quite an interesting piece of architecture. Roxas blvd is a good place to see postmodern and modern buildings in the same kilometer.. not alot of those in this region..

[bagel]

Great pics, Sunking.

Hey does anyone have pics of PhilamLife? I'd like to see it from afar... also it would be nice to also see the WHO building. If memory serves me right, it's a well-maintained 60s modernist building.

Really colorful in Manila. As sparkly as everything is in Makati, Manila- and particularly Ermita/Malate -I find so colorful.

[bagel]

Here's a picture I took in the light and sound display at Rizal Park.

[SunKing]

I was able to watch a show at the Metropolitan when our class went there for a field trip many years ago, unfortunately, I was too young too remember many details of the building. It's really in a very sad state now, I even saw cars parked in between the arches just in front of the shops. As for the RM Center, was it always white? I remember it having a pebble washout exterior, although, I could be wrong.

[lumpia]

heres a pic 2 dis thread.. its not mine tho, rather from a user on webshots community (http://community.webshots.com) saved this pic on my PC bout 2 months ago.. just now i tried to reenter, but now u can only access the site with a paid membership account (lucky me eh!).. so enjoy this rare pic haha)

[bagel]

Ha... This will show my age. I remember watching a rock show at the Metropolitan.

Does anybody know the Dawn? (of course people do... I think they may be together in some form right now unless Jet Pangan still has the Jet Pangan Experience). Anyway, I watched the Dawn play Metropolitan Theater in 1987 I believe. Right around the time of their song, "Enveloped Ideas." If anyone is to thank for the current wave of Philippine alt-rock, it's the Dawn. They started it in the late 80s back when the state of Philippine banda music was stuff like Side A.

Anyway, I remember it was very hot and the seats were wood fold-down theater seats. It was a great place to see a show.


BTW, Lumpia... you need to take the "orig.jpg" part out of the image text so it displays on here.

[amras]

is Metropolitan Theater the same place where Vilma Santos used to do her tv show?

[JudeD]

Yup, at the time it was being run by her ex-biyenan, Mrs. Manzano. In fact, it was their biggest cash cow.

I think the Ramon Magsaysay building does have a pebble washout surface, but they used light beige pebbles so it's more aesthetically appealing than gray or multicolored pebbles. And it matches the marble of the columns.

They also have the Buhayin Ang Maynila exhibit set up at Roxas pala. And they also published a coffee table book all about the project. I haven't seen it myself, but it's supposed to be really glossy. Most of the establishments in Malate are displaying copies daw.

The Dawn have recently regrouped for a tour. Diba mas nauna sila sa Side-A by many years?