Bridging the Gap
By Prof. Henry Funtecha

The early years of Calle De la Rama

Among the streets that emerged as an artery of commerce and trade in Iloilo City during the closing decades of the Spanish period and the early years of the American rule was Calle Progresso, later known as Calle De la Rama. It linked the waterfront with the heart of the city. Considered as the hub of commercial traffic and the life vein of the sugar trade, it was originally built in 1857 by Nicholas Loney, the first British vice-consul in Iloilo, to connect the bodega or warehouse that he had constructed at the waterfront with the city.

Calle Progresso was, as its name implies, a brokerage center, the site of the city's banks and commercial offices, and some of the most expensive residential-commercial real estates. Here were located the branch offices and warehouses of Smith Bell and Co., Peele-Hubble, McLeod and Co., Warner, Barnes and Co., Lucksinger y cia, Forbes and Co., W.E. Stevenson, and others, as well as the offices of the Chartered Bank, Banco Las Islas de Filipinas, and Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (Contribuciones Industriales, 1897). The office and machine shop of Strachan and McMurray Ltd. were also found here. The banks and other commercial establishments were interspersed by impressively constructed houses.

Calle Progresso was also home to the De la Rama Shipping Co., a Filipino firm which ran several luxurious vessels in the coastwise service, particularly on the Iloilo-Manila route. It also served ships to foreign countries, like the United States and England. It was owned by a local magnate by the name of Isidro De la Rama.

At the end of Calle Progresso, leading towards the heart of the city was found the public square, Plaza Alfonso XII (today known as Plaza Libertad). Near the plaza was the San Jose Catholic Church and an English commercial house, Holman and Co., which engaged in import business (Contribuciones Industriales). There were also two imposing buildings owned by the Swiss businessman, Samuel Bischoff, and the Filipino, Julio Lacson (Fincas Urbanas, Iloilo). The one owned by Lacson can still be seen standing today beside the church.

Two more major streets were connected to Calle Progresso through Plaza Alfonso XII. One was Calle Rosario, noted for the wealthy residents along it. It was an area with a number of large buildings owned by both Filipinos and foreigners. Today, this particular street is still known as Calle Rosario. The other is Calle Real (now referred to as J.M. Basa St.), also known as the “Escolta of Iloilo”. It was the site of most of the city's European, Chinese and American retail stores, with property values markedly high along it. Its whole length, from Plaza Alfonso XII to the Casa Real or the Provincial Capitol was the busiest section of the city in terms of traffic, both human and vehicles, during that period of time.