From Town to City: Stories of San Juan
Learn how historical events and urban planning reshaped the city’s landscape.
Limited-time exhibition
May 14, 2022 Sep 25, 2022
“San Juan Today” examined the transformation of San Juan from a small town during the late 1800s to a busy city at the center of Metro Manila. The exhibition presented how changes in infrastructure, housing, and community life developed over more than a century.
Historic maps and photographs documented the gradual shift of San Juan’s landscape, from agricultural plots to residential neighborhoods and later to commercial areas. Touchscreen displays allowed visitors to compare different maps of the city across decades, revealing how roads, schools, and markets developed around the reservoir site.
Oral histories from long-term residents provided personal perspectives on wartime destruction, post-war rebuilding, and the growth of urban communities. Scale models of local architecture illustrated changes in building design, from traditional homes to modern apartment structures.
The exhibition also encouraged reflection on current urban issues. Short films compared everyday experiences from the 1950s with present-day city life, raising questions about traffic, congestion, and the preservation of heritage sites. A final section invited visitors to share their thoughts on how San Juan should balance development with cultural memory.
By documenting both the past and present, “San Juan Today” positioned Museo El Deposito as a place not only for history but also for ongoing conversations about the future of the city.
Historic maps and photographs documented the gradual shift of San Juan’s landscape, from agricultural plots to residential neighborhoods and later to commercial areas. Touchscreen displays allowed visitors to compare different maps of the city across decades, revealing how roads, schools, and markets developed around the reservoir site.
Oral histories from long-term residents provided personal perspectives on wartime destruction, post-war rebuilding, and the growth of urban communities. Scale models of local architecture illustrated changes in building design, from traditional homes to modern apartment structures.
The exhibition also encouraged reflection on current urban issues. Short films compared everyday experiences from the 1950s with present-day city life, raising questions about traffic, congestion, and the preservation of heritage sites. A final section invited visitors to share their thoughts on how San Juan should balance development with cultural memory.
By documenting both the past and present, “San Juan Today” positioned Museo El Deposito as a place not only for history but also for ongoing conversations about the future of the city.
