Product Code Database
Ermita is a district in central Manila, Philippines. It is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of Manila, bearing the seat of city government and a large portion of the area's employment, business, and entertainment activities.
Private and government offices, museums, and universities thrive in Ermita. It is also home to several tourist attractions and landmarks, including Rizal Park.
Ermita and its neighboring district Malate were originally posh neighborhoods for Manila's high society during the early 20th century, where large, grandiose mansions once stood. Ermita and its surroundings were heavily bombed and flattened during the Second World War after it became a battleground during the Manila massacre. After the war, Ermita and its twin district, Malate, had undergone commercialization, shifting from a sprawling upscale suburb to a commercial district.
It is also known as the birthplace of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the 14th President of the Philippines.
Lagyo was re-christened in the 17th century as La Hermita (Spanish language for "the hermitage") after the fact that a Mexican hermit resided in the area and on this site was built a hermitage housing an image of the Virgin Mary known as the Nuestra Señora de Guia (Our Lady of Guidance). The hermit-priest's name was Juan Fernandez de Leon, who was a hermit in Mexico before relocating to Manila. "Jesuits In The Philippines (1581–1768)" Page 132 "In 1591 there arrived in Manila a secular priest named Juan Fernandez de Leon. He had led a hermit's life in Mexico and planned to continue it in the Philippines. For this purpose he built himself a retreat near a wayside shrine just outside the city walls which was dedicated to Our Lady of Guidance, Nuestra Sehora de Guia. His hermitage later gave its name to the entire district, which is called Ermita to this day."
The hermitage has since evolved into Ermita Church, rebuilt several times since the early 17th century.By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II 3 February – 3 March 1945, p. 85-86 During the Spanish evacuation of Ternate in present-day Indonesia, the 200 families of mixed Mexican-Filipino-Spanish and Papuan-Indonesian-Portuguese descent who had ruled over the Christianized Sultanate of Ternate and included their sultan who converted, were relocated to Ternate, Cavite, and Ermita, Manila.Zamboangueño Chavacano: Philippine Spanish Creole or Filipinized Spanish Creole? By Tyron Judes D. Casumpang (Page 3)
By the 19th century, although still considered as an " arrabal", which refers to a rural area, urban expansion had slowly reached the northern portion of the district mainly due to the development of the Luneta, also called Bagumbayan, as a promenade at the coast of Manila Bay. The district also saw the construction of the Manila Observatory by Father Federico Faura during the early 1890s. It was once located on a street now named after Fr. Faura himself. Ermita then developed a creole language based on Spanish called Ermiteño, which eventually became extinct after the devastation of the Second World War. However, it still has a surviving cousin language spoken in nearby Cavite.
Burnham envisioned the district, especially in the northern portion, to be the center of the Philippine government, redeveloping Luneta into a grand park patterned after that of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Government buildings housing the legislative, executive and judicial branches were planned to be located in the area. A proposed Philippine capitol was also planned to be built at the eastern tip of Luneta Park but never materialized. It also became known as the university district, containing the campuses and dormitories of the Philippine Normal University,pnu.edu.ph the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila, the Adamson University, the Assumption College and St. Paul College. The residential portion of Ermita was populated by American residents, who set up such establishments as the Army and Navy Club and the University Club.By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II 3 February – 3 March 1945, p. 89
Aside from its universities and leisure clubs, Ermita district, as well as its adjacent district, Malate, which both happened to be facing Manila Bay, were once home to Manila's high society and were filled with large, gilded mansions. Manila's wealthiest families used to live in the twin suburbs.
One notable structure built was the Insular Ice Plant, designed by consulting architect Edgar K. Bourne, who was also the head of the Bureau of Architecture in 1902 (under the Philippine Commission).
During the first term of Mayor Alfredo Lim, 1992–1998, efforts were made to "clean up" Ermita's image and reputation. However, a local city ordinance prohibiting the establishment of motels, lodging houses, and other similar establishments was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. G.R. No. 118127. April 12, 2005 (archived from the original on 2008-02-24) Nightlife in the area dwindled, though it later picked up with the help of the emergence of the nearby Malate district and the Roxas Boulevard revitalization efforts along Manila Bay.
The Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT-1) follows Taft Avenue and stops at three stations in Ermita, namely Central Terminal station, United Nations station and Pedro Gil station.
Pasig River Ferry Service has a ferry station in the district named Lawton.
Barangays 659 to 664 are part of Zone 71 of the City of Manila, while barangays 666 to 670 are part of Zone 72.
| Barangay 659 | 0.1403 km2 | 439 |
| Barangay 659-A | 0.3553 km2 | 3,547 |
| Barangay 660 | 0.05628 km2 | 387 |
| Barangay 660-A | 0.1159 km2 | 3,099 |
| Barangay 661 | 0.1222 km2 | 486 |
| Barangay 663 | 0.05173 km2 | 704 |
| Barangay 663-A | 0.07525 km2 | 185 |
| Barangay 664 | 0.1429 km2 | 555 |
| Barangay 666 | 0.6910 km2 | 904 |
| Barangay 667 | 0.1991 km2 | 3,010 |
| Barangay 668 | 0.1559 km2 | 2,905 |
| Barangay 669 | 0.2455 km2 | 3,738 |
| Barangay 670 | 0.1419 km2 | 2,904 |
|
|
