Galaxy of treasures, avenues of loss
By Paulo Alcazaren
The Philippine STAR 07/22/2006
Manila suffered another heritage loss last month. The Avenue Theater
was a grand Art Deco structure that provided entertainment for
generations of Manilans. Designed in the 1930s by National Artist for
Architecture Juan Nakpil, the structure was a landmark building that
helped define Manila’s downtown – Avenida Rizal. The success of the
current pedestrianization and revitalization of that street has led
ironically to a tragedy of greed over heritage. This may eventually
negate the very logic of urban revivification – that of recovering
Manila’s sense and pride of place.
Avenida was the main street of pre and postwar Manila. Movie
houses, restaurants, department stores, bookshops and small hotels
lined the street from its start near the banks of the Pasig northward,
past the drugstores and the San Lazaro Hospital. It was the place to go
to for movies, shopping and a night out with family and friends. Busy
with traffic by day and vibrant with neon lights till the wee hours of
the morning, the avenue was the entertainment capital of Manila and the
Philippines.
<!–
D(["mb","
The renaissance of the Avenida came in the wake of a citywide\nrevitalization led by Mayor Lito Atienza. I had featured bits of these\nwell-received initiatives like the Baywalk, and some parks and\nriverbank promenades. I also featured the Avenida redo but things must\nhave become so successful that more and more people and more and more\nbusiness came back.
This meant that the owners of these buildings, who were wont\nto just maintain them for low rentals before, now scrounged around for\nthe best way to take advantage of the situation. This also meant that a\ndisused cinema made more money if it were just turned into a parking\nlot or parking building. This is the fate that befell the Avenue\nTheatre and it is just the start.
Many of the pre and postwar buildings by well-known\narchitects like Nakpil, Antonio, Araneta, and a host of others are now\nthreatened with demolition. The next one to face destruction is\nreportedly the Galaxy Theater by another National Artist for\nArchitecture: Pablo Antonio Sr.\n
We hope city authorities realize that Manila will be further\ndevalued if it keeps losing its gems of irreplaceable architectural\nheritage. But it is not only Manila that is affected by the\nwrecking-ball attitude to development and "progress." Makati is also\nthreatened by the possible loss or marring of one of its postwar\nlandmarks – the Manila Polo Club.
The Manila Polo Club moved to Makati when it gave up its\nbayside location to join the exodus to a new suburb touted as the fresh\nalternative to war-torn central Manila. The Ayalas first developed\nForbes Park in their huge estate to attract the business and social\nelite to more residences and eventually their business offices to the\nnewly planned satellite city. One of the key attractions was the Polo\nClub.
The ploy worked and to ensure that the new Manila Polo Club\nwas the best that money could build, the board enlisted the talents of\nPablo Antonio Sr. as architect. Antonio designed a horizontal complex\nwith large assembly hall-cum-lobby and commodious spaces for dining,\nlounging and viewing the polo games. The design evoked an elegant\nlifestyle that set the trend for the homes that eventually rose around\nit. Antonio used the best Philippine wood and stone and also set the\nbuildings tastefully in a landscape setting designed by planner and\nlandscape architect Louis P. Croft, who was an adviser to President\nManuel Quezon before the war. The long sinuous and dramatic drive from\nMcKinley to the steps of the clubhouse is part of his contribution.\n",1]
);
//–>Named after the street it was on, the Avenue Theater was one
of the premier movie houses of Manila. Nakpil had designed it as a
cutting-edge cinema before the war and he renovated it after the war to
cater to new technologies of air-conditioning, Technicolor and wide
screens. I remember watching movies with my mom there in the 1960s and
I still remember passing its distinctive neon sign in the 1970s. The
flight to the suburbs, however, spelled the downfall of downtown and
the cinemas there eventually succumbed to DVDs and the cineplexes of
malls.
The renaissance of the Avenida came in the wake of a citywide
revitalization led by Mayor Lito Atienza. I had featured bits of these
well-received initiatives like the Baywalk, and some parks and
riverbank promenades. I also featured the Avenida redo but things must
have become so successful that more and more people and more and more
business came back.
This meant that the owners of these buildings, who were wont
to just maintain them for low rentals before, now scrounged around for
the best way to take advantage of the situation. This also meant that a
disused cinema made more money if it were just turned into a parking
lot or parking building. This is the fate that befell the Avenue
Theatre and it is just the start.
Many of the pre and postwar buildings by well-known
architects like Nakpil, Antonio, Araneta, and a host of others are now
threatened with demolition. The next one to face destruction is
reportedly the Galaxy Theater by another National Artist for
Architecture: Pablo Antonio Sr.
We hope city authorities realize that Manila will be further
devalued if it keeps losing its gems of irreplaceable architectural
heritage. But it is not only Manila that is affected by the
wrecking-ball attitude to development and "progress." Makati is also
threatened by the possible loss or marring of one of its postwar
landmarks – the Manila Polo Club.
The Manila Polo Club moved to Makati when it gave up its
bayside location to join the exodus to a new suburb touted as the fresh
alternative to war-torn central Manila. The Ayalas first developed
Forbes Park in their huge estate to attract the business and social
elite to more residences and eventually their business offices to the
newly planned satellite city. One of the key attractions was the Polo
Club.
<!–
D(["mb","
The Polo Club has since become an institution as well as a\nsocial and architectural landmark. The club, however, has in the last\nfew decades grown in size and required expansion. The new masterplan\nreleased recently has several members and heritage advocates up in\narms.
The plans show additional structures that reportedly\ncompromise the original scale and elegance of the Antonio design. The\nlobby is being enlarged to several times its original size, prodding a\ncritic to call the design a "prime example of architectural gigantism –\nbig for the sake of bigness." The budget has also reportedly ballooned\nto four times the original allocation of funds and that these large\nspaces will inflate the already high cost of air-conditioning and\npower.
All is not lost. With construction not yet started there is\nstill time to reconsider the design. The architect may have been given\nconflicting goals in the design brief. The interpretation may not have\nbeen as appreciative of the original architectural flavor and heritage\nvalue as it should. The Polo Club could be saved from the fate has\nbefallen hundreds of other architectural landmarks in our beloved\nmetropolis.\n
The road to urban dystopia is lined with the rubble of lost\narchitectural heritage. Let\'s all cross our fingers and hope we can\nconserve rather that destroy, appreciate rather than just appraise,\ntake pride rather than just profit from all that we do.\n
| * * * PECO Feedback |
I\nalso received lots of feedback from last week\'s PECO piece. From RBG:\n"Thanks for sharing your PECO souvenir. I also had that souvenir when I\nwas still in high school at Quiapo Parochial School. My grandparents\nlived just beside PECO and it was in this establishment where I learned\nto appreciate books and foreign magazines. Erehwon won all my weekly\nallowance when I was in college at St. Paul College. It\'s nice to\nrevive those years.
",1]
);
//–>The ploy worked and to ensure that the new Manila Polo Club
was the best that money could build, the board enlisted the talents of
Pablo Antonio Sr. as architect. Antonio designed a horizontal complex
with large assembly hall-cum-lobby and commodious spaces for dining,
lounging and viewing the polo games. The design evoked an elegant
lifestyle that set the trend for the homes that eventually rose around
it. Antonio used the best Philippine wood and stone and also set the
buildings tastefully in a landscape setting designed by planner and
landscape architect Louis P. Croft, who was an adviser to President
Manuel Quezon before the war. The long sinuous and dramatic drive from
McKinley to the steps of the clubhouse is part of his contribution.
The Polo Club has since become an institution as well as a
social and architectural landmark. The club, however, has in the last
few decades grown in size and required expansion. The new masterplan
released recently has several members and heritage advocates up in
arms.
The plans show additional structures that reportedly
compromise the original scale and elegance of the Antonio design. The
lobby is being enlarged to several times its original size, prodding a
critic to call the design a "prime example of architectural gigantism –
big for the sake of bigness." The budget has also reportedly ballooned
to four times the original allocation of funds and that these large
spaces will inflate the already high cost of air-conditioning and
power.
All is not lost. With construction not yet started there is
still time to reconsider the design. The architect may have been given
conflicting goals in the design brief. The interpretation may not have
been as appreciative of the original architectural flavor and heritage
value as it should. The Polo Club could be saved from the fate has
befallen hundreds of other architectural landmarks in our beloved
metropolis.
The road to urban dystopia is lined with the rubble of lost
architectural heritage. Let’s all cross our fingers and hope we can
conserve rather that destroy, appreciate rather than just appraise,
take pride rather than just profit from all that we do.
| * * * PECO Feedback |
<!–
D(["mb","From my good friend Professor Butch Zialcita: "Excuse me,\nPaulo. Arlegui and Castillejos are not off the Escolta, which is\nlocated in Sta. Cruz. They are in Quiapo! I used to walk to PECO from\nour ancestral house in Quiapo. Escolta is separated from Castillejos by\nSta. Cruz church, Avenida Rizal, Carriedo, Plaza Miranda, Quiapo Church\nand Arlegui!"\n
Thanks Butch …I had a senior moment of disorientation while writing the piece last week.\n
Finally form LLH: "This, and your other articles, bring good\nmemories of what used to be. Keep it up and thanks for sharing! If you\nhave articles on the web or a site where you regularly post them,\nkindly send me a link."
Well LLH, the Philippine STAR has a great website, www.philstar.com. I hope to come out with more sites and structures of our gentler past in the near future.\n
| * * * |
\n\nFeedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com
Ivan About Town \n\n\nhttp://ivanhenares.blogspot.com\n
",1]
);I
also received lots of feedback from last week’s PECO piece. From RBG:
"Thanks for sharing your PECO souvenir. I also had that souvenir when I
was still in high school at Quiapo Parochial School. My grandparents
lived just beside PECO and it was in this establishment where I learned
to appreciate books and foreign magazines. Erehwon won all my weekly
allowance when I was in college at St. Paul College. It’s nice to
revive those years.
From my good friend Professor Butch Zialcita: "Excuse me,
Paulo. Arlegui and Castillejos are not off the Escolta, which is
located in Sta. Cruz. They are in Quiapo! I used to walk to PECO from
our ancestral house in Quiapo. Escolta is separated from Castillejos by
Sta. Cruz church, Avenida Rizal, Carriedo, Plaza Miranda, Quiapo Church
and Arlegui!"
Thanks Butch …I had a senior moment of disorientation while writing the piece last week.
Finally form LLH: "This, and your other articles, bring good
memories of what used to be. Keep it up and thanks for sharing! If you
have articles on the web or a site where you regularly post them,
kindly send me a link."
Well LLH, the Philippine STAR has a great website, www.philstar.com. I hope to come out with more sites and structures of our gentler past in the near future.
| * * * |
Feedback is welcome. Please e-mail the writer at paulo.alcazaren@gmail.com
13 Responses to “Galaxy of treasures, avenues of loss”
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