Escolta Street in Santa Cruz was the Fifth Avenue of the Philippines before World War II — the most fashionable shopping street in Southeast Asia, lined with department stores, banks, and theaters in Art Deco and neoclassical styles. The 1945 Battle of Manila destroyed much of it, but enough survived to make the street legible as the grand avenue it once was.
Today Escolta is a mix of surviving pre-war buildings and post-war reconstruction, with a significant preservation effort by local groups trying to reactivate the area as a creative and cultural hub. The First United Building (1935), the Regina Building (1935), and the Capitol Theater are among the surviving Art Deco structures. Galleries, cafes, and design studios are gradually moving in alongside the hardware stores and commercial offices. A morning walk along Escolta is the best way to understand what Manila was before the war.