Manila was Called Paris of Asia in 1880 and Had Telephones in 1890

Manila had TELEPHONES in 1890. Most of Europe didn’t.

First telephone line in Southeast Asia - 1890 Manila.

By 1894, Manila had 500+ telephone subscribers.

Intramuros to Escolta, Binondo to Malate, you could call across Manila.

While farmers in America still used letters, Manileños called each other.

Your great-great Lolo answered a telephone before the Eiffel Tower was even famous.

In the late 1890s, the Escolta became one of the first streets in Asia to glow with an extensive electric streetlighting system. At the time, many major European capitals were still transitioning from gas lamps making Manila’s upgrade shockingly ahead of its era

Meanwhile, Do you know that....

Intramuros, the walled city of Manila, was founded in 1571.

Spanish colonizers built this fortified city on the south bank of the Pasig River, and its thick stone walls and churches stood at the center of Spanish rule in the Philippines for more than three centuries. Much of it was destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945, and parts have been carefully restored since.

Today visitors can walk its cobblestone streets, tour Fort Santiago, and take a kalesa ride past centuries of history.

Lastly, UST is older than Harvard

Personal Notes: Macrine (RIP) graduated with a Bachelor of Degree in Commerce, minor in Accounting from UST. She later graduated with a Bachelor Nursing degree here in US, at Holy Name College, Oakland, CA