Asia/Philippines/Metro Manila/Manila/Casa Manila/
Casa Manila
- Location
- Plaza San Luis Complex, Corner Gen Luna & Real Streets
- Open Daily Except Mondays, 9:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Tel No. 527-4084 / 527-4088
- Overview
Casa Manila is run by the Intramuros Administration, a government agency created in 1979 to restore Intramuros and to rehabilitate it after the last world war caused its deterioration.
Even before World War II, most of the houses and some churches in Intramuros were already damaged by major earthquakes in 1863 and 1880.
Casa Manila, a "colonial lifestyle" museum, is only a section of Plaza San Luis Complex, a commercial-cultural complex. As with all new structures built within the walls of Intramuros, facades here are based on colonial period designs.
The facade of Casa Manila was copied from a house (c. 1850) at Calle Jaboneros in San Nicolas, a district across the river. in that area, the first floor of houses were rented out to shopkeepers. At Casa Manila, you will find shops on the ground floor where you may buy antiques, art objects and souvenir items.
Note that the walls of the ground floors are made of adobe stones. In the Spanish colonial period ( late 16th century to late 19th century), adobe or volcanic tuff was quarried from Makati and Meycauayan, Bulacan for building material. The stones in Casa Manila were quarried from Bulacan.
The uppermost floor, the living quarters, was made of wood. Since wood was lighter than stone, it was less hazardous during earthquakes. Notice that the uppermost floor extends outwards, helping to shade pedestrians during the day. Its real use, though, was for the stability of the living quarters during earthquakes.
One will find that the structure adjoining Casa Manila ( facing the church) is stone on both floors. When the Spaniards first arrived, they built in this manner. This had to be changed because the houses could not withstand earthquakes.
