Along with the corners of F.B. Harrison Ave. and Pablo Ocampo Street, this mall stood between the borders of Pasay & Manila for 43 years, and the chosen shopping destination between the 2 cities. Until it closed down a year ago as one of the oldest shopping malls and will be replaced to a world-class mall with a residential area.
Harrison Plaza was built in a former cemetery (Ermita Cemetery) and a fort (Fort San Antonio Abad) which was destroyed after World War II. The mall opened its doors in 1976 and was the first major mall in the country. The mall is very strategic for patrons, as visitors coming from the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Star City, or at Century Park Hotel which is only a few steps away. I visited this mall one last time a year ago before the pandemic.
Before these malls dominating every corner in every city, Harrison Plaza was a one-stop destination for everything you need. After shopping, there are a few spots where you can hang out or eat anywhere, like McDonald's who doesn't plan to renovate their branch back then, the huge plaza, or play arcade games at Club Synergy, or pay a visit to the Church to give thanks. I remember we used to go here with my mom to purchase goods or other stuff for home, then we'll visit the church to pray then head back home. Aside from Harrison Plaza, it also had the SM Department Store and the Jai-Alai in the 1990s then turned to SM Hypermarket which the sport was beginning to decline.
The mall is surrounded by 2nd Hand Shops, Stalls, except for the well-known stores around the mall. The lights were dim, the paint was about to fade out and ceilings were about to fall out reminiscing to its old site from the fort and cemetery situated on this spot.
Now, the mall is sold to SM Prime and there are big plans for their project, making Harrison Plaza a world-class mall like SM Mall of Asia. If they renovated the mall with a new look, then patrons would still come back. But Harrison Plaza stood its place for generations that marked the hearts of every Manileño & Pasaeño around.
All images are taken from my GoPro #GoProtography
Sources:
Lead Image from https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/harrison-plaza-history-a1729-20190723-lfrm
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1207903/harrison-plaza-closes-shop-after-43-years
https://balay.ph/haunted-places-in-metro-manila/
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/cemetery-trivia-former-burial-grounds
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