11 November, 2008

Seattle Civic Auditorium Postcard

I found a similar postcard online and the back of the postcard contains detailed information about the auditorium.

Seattle Civic Auditorium Postcard(now Marion Oliver McCaw Hall)

Construction Date: 1925-1928
Cost: $1,115,000
Seattle has constructed a Civic Auditorium, Exposition Hall and Recreation Field as a three-fold civic development, on a centrally located 12-acre site, bounded by Third and Fourth Avenues North, Harrison and Mercer Streets. The Auditorium, fronting on Third Avenue, is 194 feet by 274 feet in size, and comfortably seats 7,700 persons. Of these 5,000 are taken care of on the main floor and 2,700 in the balcony. It has a total of 40,000 square feet of utility space. The main floor is flat and of maple.
In 1959 construction began to transform the aging Civic Auditorium into a 3,100-seat Opera House in preparation for the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. The remodeled hall was a fan-shaped room, with two balconies, seating about 3,100 persons.
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is the latest incarnation of what was once Seattle’s Civic Auditorium (1928) which was then gutted and rebuilt as the Seattle Center Opera House for the World’s Fair in 1962.

SOURCES:
VintageSeattle's Seattle Civic Auditorium Postcard
Marion Oliver McCaw Hall Article

03 November, 2008

UPDATE: Parian Gate Postcard

Parian Gate Postcard

The postcard shows the Parian Gate and the dome of one of the churches inside the walled city.
I was browsing the book Ciudad Murada by Jose Victor Z. Torres when I came across on page 43 a similar picture showing Parian Gate or Puerta del Parian, the dome of Hospital de San Juan de Dios chapel and the rectangular cupola of Nuestra SeƱora de los Angeles known as the San Francisco Church.


I believe a lot of people do not know that there were actually 8 churches inside pre-war Intramuros (and there were also chapels). Some are more familiar with the Manila Cathedral dome. The cathedral is located near Fort Santiago, while the Puerta del Parian is at the northeast of Intramuros.
Below is the map showing the location of Puerta del Parian.


#26 San Francisco Church and Convent#27 Capilla de la Orden Tercera#28 Hospital de San Juan de Dios

Here is another picture of the dome of
Hospital de San Juan de Dios chapel and the rectangular cupola of the San Francisco Church.

RELATED ENTRIES:
Parian Gate Postcard
UPDATE: Parian Gate Postcard

IMAGES SOURCES:
Map from Ciudad Murada: A Walk Through Historic Intramuros
by Jose Victor Z. Torres


Hospital de San Juan de Dios, Manila 1897, Retrato: Filipinas Collection Thread 3SkyscraperCity Forum

UPDATE: San Miguel Brewery Postcard

San Miguel Brewery Postcard

Location of the Brewery: Formerly located at General Solano Street, in San Miguel, Manila (The building, I believe, was demolished to make way to a new building in the Malacanang compound).


General Solano Street: Located in San Miguel. Named after Ramon Solano of Llanderone who became governor-general on January12, 1860. During his short reign, civil government in Manila, Monte de Piedad, Quinta Market and the Statue of Queen Isabella II were established.

SOURCES:
Catalogue of Philippine Picture Postcards American Period:1898-1941
by Conrado F. Ciriaco

Daluyan: Historical Dictionary of the Streets of Manila
by National Historical Institute, p. 37

RELATED ENTRY:
San Miguel Brewery Postcard

02 November, 2008

UPDATE: Chinese Laborers and Freight Hauler Postcards

Chinese Laborers Postcard

Finally, thanks to Mr. Price, the church that can be seen behind the Chinese Laborers in the postcard is nameless no more. It is actually the Sta. Cruz Church in Manila. Actually what can be seen in the postcard is the rear of Santa Cruz Church. The men are standing on the ramp of Santa Cruz Bridge, and in the background is Plaza Goiti, now Plaza Lacson.

The Jesuits built the first Roman Catholic Church in the area where the present Santa Cruz Parish stands on June 20, 1619. The Jesuits enshrined the image of the Our Lady of Pillar in 1643 to serve the pre-dominantly Chinese residents in the area, in which many of them were converted into the Catholic faith.

Freight Haulers Postcard

Another postcard that depicts the rear of the Sta. Cruz Church is the Freight Hauler postcard (shown above). One can notice the circular rose window above another window. Those windows can also be seen on the first postcard.

15 October, 2008

Philippine Picture Postcards 1900-1920

Philippine Picture Postcards 1900-1920Author: Jonathan BestPublisher: Bookmark, Inc.Copyright: 1994Pages: 119


Jonathan Best is a book author and an arts and culture consultant. As I've said he is an avid collector of Philippine photographs and postcards and has published two books "Philippine Picture Postcards 1900-1920" and "A Philippine Album: American Era Photographs."
Philippine Picture Postcards 1900-1920 not only provides a simple history of early postcards but also gives the reader a fascinating portrait of the Philippines during the first two decades of this century. It offers us a visual memory of a time which still retained much of the charm of the 19th century. As well all know much of the Spanish-Asian cityscape of Manila was made rubble by World War II.

The period selected (1900-1920) is one when the Philippines became well known as "Pearl of the Orient." It was American tourism promotion and governmental propaganda that would really popularize the distinctive designation. The 180 postcards illustrated in the book are among the most beautiful and historically interesting Philippine cards from his collection of around 2000 postcards (lots of old Philippine cards are still in archives and private collections). It presents a selection of different types of cards and a wide range of images from Luzon to Mindanao.

Some of my reproduced colored postcards can also be seen in this book.

*The book won the 1994 National Book Awards Best Book Design.