Manila had a Luxury Hotel in 1860 and an Opera Theatre in 1878

Manila had a LUXURY HOTEL in 1860. Before Singapore had one.

Hotel de Oriente 1860 • Binondo Manila, first luxury hotel in Southeast Asia.

Built by Don Teodoro Patino. Had 70 rooms, restaurant, bar, horse stables.

European travelers stayed here. Jose Rizal checked in here.

While Singapore was still a fishing village, Manila had room service.

Your great-grandparents saw electric lights here before Buckingham Palace did.

Meanwhile, Manila had the first steel bridge in Asia in 1880

Meanwhile, Do You Know that.....

Manila had OPERA in 1878. Before Japan did.

Teatro de Tondo 1878 Manila - first theater in Southeast Asia.

Performed zarzuela, opera, Filipino comedia. Had 500 seats, velvet curtains, gas lights.

Manileños watched Italian opera while most of Asia had never seen a play.

Your great-great Lola wore Maria Clara to watch opera before Broadway even existed. Have you ever watched a zarzuela?

Finally, Manila Had a Train System in 1888

Manila had a TRAIN SYSTEM in 1888. America didn’t have subways until 1904.

Tranvia horse-drawn trams started in Manila in 1888 - 16 years before New York subway.

By 1905, Manila had 5 tram lines covering:

Intramuros

Escolta

Sampaloc

Malate

Fare: 10 centavos. It carried 2 million passengers a year in 1900.

Your Lolo rode a tram to work while Americans still rode horse buggies in mud.

Then WWII bombed the tracks.

Lastly, Manila had Movies in 1903- First Cinema in Asia