The Artists Who Keep the 'Queen of Manila’s Streets' Alive

A street called Escolta was once a bustling, elite shopping district so alluring, The New York Times called it the "Fifth Avenue of Manila." But that was in the 1930s. Today, rows of heritage buildings on Escolta have long been abandoned, leaving artists to do their best to save the country’s old gems from being torn down.

In 2012, Dominic Galicia, a renowned architect in the Philippines, proposed moving the country’s call center firms into those 50-year-old, pre-world-war buildings on Escolta. The Escolta Commercial Association Inc. (ECAI) and cultural advocates from the Heritage Conservation Society (HCS) backed this idea. It was a pretty logical solution. After all, the Philippines is one of main destinations for business outsource processing (BPO) companies. The idea was that it would consequently rake in jobs, bring in the money without having to displace anyone – the exact opposite of what gentrification, they believed, could result into.

“Gentrification is a loaded term—the way it’s been used in practice," Mark Evidente, president of the HCS said. "In order to revitalize [a neighborhood], you tend to push out particular classes out of the district."

In the case of Escolta, however—which has also been dubbed as “Manila’s Queen of Streets”— gentrification will not only result in the removal of people from their own neighborhood, but also a permanent change of Manila and the destruction of its traces of history.

Alas, after over five years, the plan to turn Escolta and its heritage buildings into the next BPO nucleus failed. If before World War II Escolta was the go-to street for high-end shopping in Manila, it was now been deemed inadequate, lacking even the most basic features to support a call center industry.

“Streetlights, sewage, among others, and soft infrastructure, street cleaning and garbage collection, social services for informal settlers, and street policing are seriously lacking,” Galicia said.

The district’s deterioration started 73 years ago at The Battle of Manila, where American, Filipino and Japanese forces fought and razed Escolta to the ground, destroying some of its grandiose buildings and ravaging its transportation and power systems.

After the war, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts helped Escolta get back to its feet. Roberto Sylianteng, whose family owns one of the buildings which survived the war, said property owners like him did the best they can, while also reaching out to local officials to make Escolta functional and livable again.

The businesses did come back, but big firms have moved elsewhere, to the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong in particular, mainly because of government effort to make Escolta relevant and competitive was minimal.

Eventually, what did inject life into efforts to keep Escolta alive was not a multimillion industry, but art.

“It was love at first sight,” said Marika Constantino, an artist, of the 90-year old First United building.

The interior of First United Building had seen better days. Its beam ceilings were a mix of gray and white concrete, and its walls were lined with hollow blocks. Its floor was another stretch of grayness, bereft of any tiles or linoleum or any additional material. The exterior, though, was a glorious display of art deco—a masterpiece by architect Andres Luna de San Pedro, the son of a renowned painter Juan Luna.

First United Building is one of Manila’s most important pieces of history which could atrophy without a clear conservation plan from the local government. Buildings as old as this, instead of being reused or restored, are usually condemned to be demolished, despite the country’s Heritage Law, which prohibits the demolition of buildings 50 years old or older.

Luckily, Constantino and fellow artists like from a group called 98B took notice.

“It was dirty and shoddy when we first saw it,” the curator said. But Constantino said the chaos of Escolta, meshed with the fascinating architecture, stirred just the right artistic atmosphere. “Right place, right time,” she said. “Serendipitous. Escolta also chose us.”

The six artists who created 98B turned First United Building into a home for Manila’s art community. First, 98B started the Future Market, a monthly market that ran from 2013 to 2015, where young and veteran artists enjoy the inexpensive space they needed not only to showcase their craft but also to promote and sell their work. Then the market metamorphosed into what’s called The Hub, a 24/7 incubation space for artists where they can hold exhibitions, conduct workshops and sell their art. The gray and white beams of the building became anchors for photo exhibits, while the gray floor now complements the vibrancy of the art displayed.

The First United Building became an emblem of art outside "the white cube format" a.k.a the clean galleries and museums.

“Since we moved here, we have a different take or approach because we’re coming from the artistic discipline,” Constantino said. “Although we said we’re not conservators, we’re not heritage architects, we’re artists, we’re curators… but since we’re located here, the area has always served as our backdrop in terms of our projects. There’s an indirect correlation, I guess, because we’re focused on projects that are outside of the white cube format.”

With The Hub, 98B created an affordable space for artists. This help keep heritage buildings such as First United relevant, limiting the need for them to be transformed into other, possibly more expensive commercial establishments that artists can’t afford. What made this possible was the fact that the owners of First United Building believed in what 98B wanted to achieve.

“We had no objections about gentrification until Marika pointed to us that among artists, it was not such a pleasant word since it drove them away,” said Lorraine Young-Sylianteng, the wife of the building owner. “However, I still think gentrification is OK for as long as we never forget how we got there and who we owe this to and learn to never displace them.”

This deeper understanding of the impacts and implications of gentrification made it easier for them to keep The Hub even as other retailers offered a higher price for First United. The owners wanted to keep the sense of having a shared identity and purpose, the common values etched in a place’s history.

“To be honest, when we were starting The Hub, a big retailer wanted to occupy the whole half of the ground floor,” Lorraine said. “However, although it was risky, we stuck to the idea to keep The Hub because big-time retailers come and go but we wanted to build a community. “

This article was made possible by the Hostwriter journalism fellowship.