FULL BLAST NA! RESTORATION OF INTRAMUROS, PLAZA MEXICO, THE ADUANA BUILDING, FORT SANTIAGO ESPLANADE
Intramuros (lit. 'within the walls' or 'inside the walls') is the 0.67-square-kilometer (0.26 sq mi) historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.[2]
Intramuros comprises a centuries-old historic district, entirely surrounded by fortifications, that was considered at the time of the Spanish Empire to be the entire City of Manila. Other towns and arrabales (suburbs) located beyond the walls that are now districts of Manila were referred to as extramuros, Spanish for "outside the walls",[3][4] and were independent towns that were only incorporated into the city of Manila during the early 20th century.
The Aduana Building (Aduana de Manila or Manila Customs House), also known as the Intendencia, was a Spanish colonial structure in Manila, Philippines, that housed several government offices through the years. It is located in front of the BPI Intramuros (formerly the site of the old Santo Domingo Church) at Plaza España, Soriano (Aduana) Ave. corner Muralla St. in Intramuros.
The Aduana, or Custom House, was built in Intramuros to attract merchants to remain within its walls rather than outside of it.[2] Records show that in 1822, a Spanish engineer Tomás Cortes took charge of the project and began its construction in 1823. Despite objections due to insufficient space for warehousing and its distance from the port, the construction continued until its completion in 1829.[2] However, in 1863, the Aduana suffered damage from an earthquake, which led to its demolition in 1872.[3] Reconstruction of the building was later awarded to Luis Perez Yap-Sionjue, which began in 1874 and was completed in 1876. The rebuilding of the structure was still based from the original design of Cortes[1] but it has now housed the Custom Offices, the Civil Administration Office (Intendencia General de Hacienda), the Treasury, and the Mint House (Casa de Moneda).[2][3] When the Customs transferred, the offices of the Mint House and Treasury remained in the building and was renamed as Intendencia.[1]
Plaza Mexico is a historic riverside square in Manila, Philippines, located at the west end of Magallanes Drive and Riverside Drive in Intramuros, bordering the Pasig River in the north. It is surrounded by the Aduana Building on the south, the Bureau of Immigration Building on the east and the ruins of the Bastión de Maestranza and Puerta de Almacenes on the west. The Pasig River Ferry has a station named Plaza Mexico located northeast of the square behind the Immigration building. The square was renamed Plaza Mexico in 1964 to commemorate the 4th centenary of the expedition of Miguel López de Legazpi and Andres de Urdaneta from New Spain (Mexico) and the historic Manila-Acapulco galleon trade relations between the two nations that lasted 250 years.
Maestranza was the royal arsenal just right outside of Fort Santiago, facing Plaza Militar (now Plaza Moriones), and beside the Pasig River. It was located near the Herrerías (royal foundry) and used to store the ordnance for the military.
A street bearing the name of Maestranza used to exist along the Almacenes walls, but it disappeared when the walls from Fort Santiago to Baluarte de Santo Domingo were demolished in 1903 and the area was turned into river wharves. Together with Baluarte Maestranza Herrerías, the Almacenes walls (now more popularly referred to as Maestranza walls) were reconstructed by the Intramuros Administration. The archaeological excavations began in 2008 and construction works commenced after.