During his campaign, Alfredo Lim promised to reopen Avenida to vehicular traffic if re-elected Manila Mayor. AND HE MEANT IT!
Immediately after taking office, the removal of the pedestrian bricks and tiles and laying of asphalt immediately began. Work was done in just about 2 weeks that I was unaware that the ribbon cutting ceremonies already took place.
A month after the re-opening of Avenida, I passed by to see how the place looked. People are back on the sidewalks, jeepneys are back to their usual routes and stores along Avenida began to re-open.
But sad to say, the establishments that once made Avenida a nice place to shop are now gone. Goodwill Bookstore is now an "ukay-ukay" store, Fairmart / Fair Center is practically dead and a once famous movie house is being torn down to become a motel, just to name a few. The only "decent" establishment left standing is National Bookstore, and that place is only packed during school openings.
It took me several trips to gather these shots because I don't pass by Avenida that often anymore, not to mention the fear of having the digicam snatched away.
And of course, I just couldn't resist not taking night shots. So here is a look at Avenida at night.
2 comments:
Growing up in a place that is practically a hundred kilometers away from Manila, I only regarded Avenida then as the terminal where the bus stops. Later on, I was amazed to have learned the rich culture and colorful past of this area.
I admire your courage of taking photos in such a place where fear of the camera being stolen is obvious and inevitable. The first photo reminded me of the shot I took of Plaza Lacson but I was on lrt's platform waiting for the train to arrive :-)
Hi Rich!
I very much enjoyed strolling around Avenida during my younger days, even prior to the LRT lines, especially the carnival at the rooftop of Good Earth Emporium, the days of Alemar's, COD, Goodwill Bookstore, the different cinemas, etc. Pero when the LRT was erected, Avenida changed dramatically, lalo na nung nagung promenade, daming "alam mo na" ang naglipana. When the Avenida was opened and I looked at your pics, I saw a different and "clean" Avenida. You've got excellent shots my frend! Thanks for bringing back the good memories of Avenida via your pics!
Keep on clickin'!
Polen
Post a Comment