Mom, Dad, we invite you to be the child today! Come take a hop, skip and a jump back to the places that brought a smile on your face, back when you were young.
Remember…
1. Fiesta Carnival
In the early days of the Araneta Center Complex in Cubao stood the Fiesta Carnival, a permanent amusement park and fairground for kids and adults alike.
Memories are made of these: In the days before McDonald’s ballpit playgrounds, Timezone and Fun Ranch, Fiesta Carnival was the best place to take a child for an afternoon of family fun. It had classic penny arcade attractions such as ring tosses, shooting galleries and live clown magic shows. It was one cavernous warehouse-like entertainment center that felt like it took hours to visit from end to end (to a child, that is).
What it is now: A Shopwise Supermarket was built on the property (you can still see the façade of the original carnival), and an attempt to relocate the carnival a few blocks down the street was made, but it hasn’t garnered the same success and recall as the original.
Photo by Anmar75 via flickr creative commons
2. Magnolia Ice Cream House
Facing Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City stood the stately Magnolia Ice Cream Plant and its public face, the Magnolia Ice Cream House.
Memories are made of these: This was a haven of ice cream creativity, a Philippine version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory in ice cream form. Do you remember Ernie and Bert? Or the Merry Go Round? How about sinking your spoon into the Daredevil and gnawing on its strawberry syrup-coated cone horns?
What it is now: For almost two decades, the original parlor remained closed after the Magnolia plant changed hands. In 2012, the Robinsons Group erected the Robinsons Magnolia Mall on the original site and decided to recreate a version of the Magnolia Ice Cream House within the mall’s park. They now serve variants of the original sundae recipes there.
Photo from the Facebook page of Magnolia Flavor House
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3. Rizal Theater
At the corner of Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue was the grand dame of movie theaters, the Rizal Theater. This place was a lovely example of stylish art deco and was an awesome place to watch a flick for anyone from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Memories are made of these: Many children of those eras recall watching Snow White, Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, Pete’s Dragon and Star Wars in this theater, the only one that had three levels – Orchestra, Balcony and Loge.
What it is now: With many malls opening their own cineplexes, standalone movie theaters weren’t all that commercially viable and so the Rizal Theater was sadly demolished. The Makati Shangri-la Hotel now stands in its place.
Photo by dennisraymondm42 via flickr creative commons
4. Quad Carpark
One of Makati City’s more trendy malls in the Sixties and Seventies, the Quad Carpark was a great place to do some shopping and have some engaging family fun.
Memories are made of these: The Quad Carpark basement was one of the earliest video game arcades in the city. In the seventies, they had arcade games here that one could play for a one-peso coin, as opposed to the more ubiquitous tokens and arcade cards today. Some of the attractions included pinball machines, air hockey, shooting ranges where you fired machine guns at footage of actual combat vessels, and the forerunners of games like Pac-Man and Missile Command.
What it is now: Quad eventually got a facelift in the 1990s and became Glorietta Mall, which still has arcades and much, much more now.
Photo from philippinewatchclub.org
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5. Virra Mall
Within the Greenhills Shopping Complex in San Juan stood the familiar sloping multi-paned Virra Mall building with its airy courtyard, central escalators and broad skylight.
Memories are made of these: Virra Mall had some of the best toys for sale for kids and adult collectors alike. In addition, many stores sold comic books, model kits, gas powered remote control cars, airsoft guns, computer parts, video game consoles and a plethora of pirated DVD movies and TV shows.
What it is now: A minor fire broke out inside one of its upstairs restaurants in 2004, which prompted management to renovate the structure the following year and rename it V-Mall. It still has everything from the old days except for the DVD pirates, who have been removed due to copyright laws.
Photo from correosfilipinas.tumblr.com
6. Big Bang Sa Alabang
Muntinlupa residents and other folks from the south had a good reason to celebrate the Christmas season in the 1980s when the corner of Alabang Zapote Road and Madrigal Avenue would come to life with Big Bang Sa Alabang.
Memories are made of these: Two words: Giant Slide – this horrendously exciting and wildly unsafe attraction was the ultimate draw of Big Bang. The giant slide was a 100 ft. tall, 70 ft. wide aluminum siding and plywood frame that had a stretch of about 250 ft. (forgive me as I do not have truly exact measurements for it) that you rode via nothing more than a burlap sack and a muttered Hail Mary.
What it is now: You won’t find a trace of it now. The Molito Center now stands in the former fairgrounds.
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7. Rosie’s Diner
Back in the eighties and nineties, Kulasas, Lasallians, Paulinians and other kids from grade school to college would flock to Rosie’s Diner on M.H. del Pilar in Malate after class to enjoy real honest and wholesome American diner food from the Fifties.
Memories are made of these: Their signature Midget Burgers were six tasty diminutive burgers to a plate, speared with little flags. Rosie’s also introduced the taco salad with the edible taco shell bowl and was one of the few places where you could score a Cherry Coke. The milkshakes were also rich and thick.
What it is now: Nightclubs, restaurants and other pawnshops have since occupied Rosie’s old corner but none have come close to its success.
Photo from jim.rees.org
8. Greenbelt Aviary
The center of the Greenbelt Mall complex in Makati City always housed three things: a chapel, a lagoon and an aviary. The Greenbelt Aviary was always a refreshing oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of the city.
Memories are made of these: The gigantic cage measuring several dozen square meters and over a hundred feet tall housed hundreds of birds, easily the biggest aviary in the city at that time. Benches were all over the place and you could spend the afternoon trying to spy a parrot, mynah or pigeon. There was even a (very brief) time when the aviary had peacocks wandering free.
What it is now: The Ayala Corporation maintains the area as a lush, manicured park, preserving the original lagoon and keeping the wildlife (sans giant cage).
Screencap from the film “P.S. I Love You”
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9. C.O.D.
Cubao was always known as a shopping district and one of its more recognizable establishments in the sixties and seventies was the C.O.D. (Christmas on Display) department store.
Memories are made of these: During the Christmas season, C.O.D. would live up to its name and have an automated display above its awning comprised of animatronic figures. These would enact a simple Christmas pageant, complete with music and spoken dialogue blasting from mounted bullhorn speakers. Passersby would mob the area during these nightly shows and many a father hoisted a child on his shoulders to see the action.
What it is now: C.O.D. closed down in 2004 and a Puregold supermarket stands in its place. However, the Greenhills Shopping Center has created its own version of the animatronic belen which now faces Ortigas Avenue and goes live during Christmastime.
Photo from urbanroamer.wordpress.com
10. Choo Choo Junction
This train-themed restaurant had branches in Cubao and Greenhills and was the coolest place to be for any kid back in the day.
Memories are made of these: It was a restaurant that was in an actual train! They even had a steam whistle that hooted every so often for authenticity. Choo Choo Junction was also known for all kinds of pasta and spaghetti. They had white sauce, meat sauce, meatballs and more! What’s not to love about that?
What it is now: The Cubao Branch is now a parking lot for SM Cubao while the Greenhills branch is now a parking building (the side with Reyes Barbeque and Army Navy).
Photo from cybertronphils.proboards.com
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