Letters from Escolta: Finding History in Manila's Golden Streets

Escolta Street was once Manila's financial center. In the 1920s, it was glitzier than Wall Street, filled with department stores and financial offices. Two buildings from that era stand as monuments to that lost world: the Burke Building (1919) and the First United Building (1928). They represent the moment before Manila's financial heart moved to Makati, when Escolta believed it would remain the center of Philippine commerce forever. Visiting these buildings now is visiting a city that no longer exists, yet somehow remains.

The first time I visited Escolta was circa 2019, certainly pre-pandemic. At the time I was obsessed with finding interesting neighborhoods in cities across the world, in particular old neighborhoods undergoing rebirth -- something I still am passionate about.

By that time I had been back and forth from Manila over a period of 3 years but had just started staying for more extended stays. I had already been to Intramuros, sampled the delights of Greenbelt, BGC and Rockwell and was now on the look out for something a little bit more on the edgier side of things.

I had heard of Chinatown in Binondo and someone had told me that Binondo was the original Old Town of Manila -- many cities across the world have an ‘Old Town’ -- they are generally fun, quirky and full of tourists. I had a feeling this would not be the case for Old Manila.

Anyway, I called a Grab (ride-sharing version to make some friends on the way) and had no idea where to get dropped off. I recall opting for a local landmark and the relative safety of a church -- so I selected the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, built in 1592 by the Dominicans, destroyed by British bombardment in 1762, rebuilt in the 1800s, only to be damaged some more during WWII. I have a vague recollection of getting out of the taxi, it being very hot and there being just a lot of commotion around me, with street kids asking for money -- it was quite overwhelming and not the relative safety of Makati that I was used to. I slowly made my way to the Church taking in the sights of the old colonial time buildings along the way.

I was trying to get my bearings and, I don’t know whether this was through a mixture of luck, desperation or efficient use of Google Maps but somehow I made my way through the sweaty hustle and bustle of the streets near the Church and ended up stumbling upon the Hub Make Lab on Escolta Street.

It was really cool to see what seemed to be the very early days of a revival of this area. There seemed to be lots of independent artists and one or two small retro clothing stores in the Hub Make Lab trying to make something happen. At the end of the street I saw a street sign which said ‘Burke Street’ which seemed completely out of place. In Manila you see Spanish place names, yes, Filipino heroes, yes but an Irish surname? Very intriguing.

After hanging out at the Hub Make Lab for a bit, I went on down into Chinatown and stopped at some random place on Ongpin Street (I wish I could remember the name, it was a while ago now so forgive me) and had some kind of red bean delicacy which I do remember was delicious!

Anyway, that little adventure had really piqued my interest in the area of Escolta. I had a feeling it was ripe for an artist-led rebirth. I would periodically check for anything happening there and stumbled across the Escolta Block party. Escolta Block was a street party: music, dancing, food and art -- all being celebrated in the area with this huge event. Unfortunately, I was not able to make it for that as I was out of Manila at the time. And then, the pandemic happened. Like a lot of things around that time, it seemed the Escolta renaissance would be somewhat delayed by the pandemic.

I had always been meaning to go back to Escolta to check on its progress. When we came up with the idea to start Best In Manila, I said to Brian that Escolta had to be our first place to go -- I wanted to head back there to check on things and also to see if there was anything more to this Burke Street, a street in Old Manila seemingly named after an Irish person.

Lo and behold when we did a little bit of research we discovered that not only was there a street with an Irish name but there was a whole story behind it.

It turns out there was an actual Burke family of Irish origin in Manila back in the 1800s (remember it was not easy to travel to the other side of the world back then). The son of that family, William John Burke (who was born in Manila in 1873) left Manila, went to Dublin to study to become a doctor, returned to Manila, became a cardiologist and commissioned the Burke Building in the early 1900s. An interesting footnote here is that the Irish famine, which caused Ireland's population to fall by around 3 million people through a mixture of emigration and starvation, occurred in the 1840s. It is highly possible that William John Burke’s family left Ireland because of the famine. During that time, most people fled across the Atlantic on ships to America -- somehow the Burkes came to Manila, how mysterious?

The Burke Building still stands to this day, perhaps as a monument to that family’s journey across the world. And, although we did not solve the mystery of the Burke family, the story serves as proof that we humans have always moved around the globe, escaping war, famine or simply in search of a better life much like many Filipinos who are spread across the world today.

You can watch our little 'mini documentary' about the story below.

Our little video adventure revealed that the revival of Escolta and Old Manila is gaining serious momentum driven by the likes of Art Serrano, an architect whose studio, called One Zero, is based in the First United Building just opposite the Burke Building. Serrano has developed a niche in coffee shop designs but also has been instrumental in building the burgeoning creative scene around Escolta, including designing the co-working space in the First United Building and spearheading events in the area.

This includes the forthcoming urban design festival called Hola Escolta! which is taking place from 22-29 November, 2025 in Escolta -- please check the event page here.

The Hola Escolta! event promises to feature music, art, food, dancing, romancing and much more in the streets of Escolta and inside the old buildings.

Coffee @ Escolta Coffee Company

Co-working at the First United Building

Food @ Ongpin Street