Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Plaza San Luis/Our World-Tuesday


Named after one of the old barrios of the walled city of Intramuros, Plaza San Luis is a cultural-cum-commercial complex currently composed of five houses---Casa Manila, Casa Urdaneta, Casa Blanca, Los Hidalgos and El Hogar Filipino.  Above is the facade of Casa Manila along the cobblestone street of Calle Real del Palacio (also known as General Luna Street) and across San Agustin Church.

Casa Manila is a museum showcasing a typical upper-class colonial Intramuros home. The interiors are filled with late 19th century and early 20th century furniture, artwork, and other artifacts from the Spanish era, all carefully arranged to illustrate what life was like for wealthy families of that period.  Below is a fountain at the courtyard.



Next to Casa Manila is this white-painted building that houses a mid-range hotel and a fine-dining restaurant, Barbara's.  Barbara's serves traditional Filipino and Spanish fares in an old world setting.


At the end of the block, at the corner of Calle Real and Urdaneta is this beautiful neoclassic house [that was newly painted]---a typical home of a Filipino illustrado or the privileged class in the late 19th century.
Intramuros is a 0.26-square mile fortress built in the 16th century, a city within the city of Manila, and its oldest district.

Linking to Our World Tuesday

19 comments:

Random Treasures said...

Great architecture and nice pictures. Thanks for sharing

Kim, USA said...

Yung Barbaras parang palagi yan starring sa mga Filipino movie. ^_^

NatureFootstep said...

Nice place. I like the fountain. It is very nicely arranged. And I like the last building. Looks so clean somehow. :)


I almost did not find the Comments. It is hidden behind the "you might also like" thumbnails. :(

colleen said...

Love the archways, balconies and fountain terrace. And it's pink!

Ahayes1225 said...

Very nice post. I love seeing other places.

stardust said...

Plaza San Luis is a wonderful place. I’d like to visit these architectures one by one in person as I like antique architecture of various different styles. It’s interesting to have a glimpse into the restaurant or residence of kind of posh family in 19th Century.

Thanks for the comment. Longevity seems to be your family’s heritage, Miranda. Wish you happy and healthy days ahead.

Yoko

Joyful said...

It's always nice to see how the upper crust live ;-) I love the fountain and would love to see the interiors of the casas.

Tito Eric said...

Haven't been in quite some time. I'd love to check out Barbara's, too, next time I go there. Have you eaten there?

Luna Miranda said...

@ Tito Eric, yes, I have dined at Barbara's twice i think. the first was a couple of years ago. i also brought American clients there last year. i love their paella and desserts.:p

Fun60 said...

I love the picture of the fountain with the beautiful stone built building in the background.

Birgitta said...

Great photos. Like the architecture!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful buildings!

Unknown said...

Great place and great photos!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Linda said...

Terrific... just great!!

Martha Z said...

This is an interesting look at your world.

Anonymous said...

Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!

EG CameraGirl said...

It's always fascinating to see how the privileged classes lived in any century. Such opulence!

genie said...

What a beautiful selection of buildings. The architecture is lovely. The restaurant is so appealing. I would love to go in there to eat. The little balconies are precious. genie

witsandnuts said...

I miss the Intramuros area. We were supposed to passed by last August also in National Museum. But then the flooding came.