Our East Gwillimbury tour guide asked in my CDP theme day post why the Manila Cathedral had been built so many times since the 16th century. The answer is simple: fires, when Manila’s structures were made mostly of wood and bamboo, and earthquakes, when stone was finally used. Then of course, there was the Battle of Manila during WWII when almost the entire city was razed to the ground. The war especially is the reason why, despite the age of the city, we have very few old buildings and those that look old are usually just reconstructions. However, even in the old walled city of Intramuros, only buildings with historical significance were reconstructed. Intramuros used to be the City of Manila but is now just one of its districts. It is a commercial zone and therefore has many office buildings. It has a law which I love though: any new structure built there has to follow the architecture of the Spanish colonial era. This office building is probably very modern inside but it doesn’t look out of place beside the Manila Cathedral or the San Agustin Church.
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