Cebu’s Downtown Colon Revisited

It's inevitable that snapshots of chaotic street comers, pollution and traffic almost always pop out of one's brain box when the area, also known as Cebu's Old Commercial Business District, comes to mind.

With new and more posh commercial districts just within reach, the City's historic CBD is sadly crammed into the bygone eras. But will these fresh and mod commercial sprouts take the place of downtown areas in the years to come? The answer is a resounding "no", according to the formulators of the Main Street Approach.

The Main Street Approach is a "philosophy, a program and proven comprehensive approach to downtown commercial district revitalization". This has been employed and successfully implemented in over a thousand cities and towns in majority of states in the U.S. Well, Cebuanos could take inspiration from what their former colonizers have done with their own old commercial districts.

The downtown Colon area is brimming with culture and history. The resplendence of heritage buildings especially those built during the Spanish and American colonial eras still radiates, albeit faintly, amidst the mess and dilapidation surrounding them. It's quite ironic how Vision Theater, a neoclassical wonder and important public place from years past, has now become a haven for peddlers of pirated DVD's of the latest movies. Blooper time hit me during that sweaty sojourn when I persistently asked my companions where Vision Theater was, only to find out later when we crossed the other side of the old and busy street and saw its distinctly pink and highly-ornate facade. Yup, we had just passed through the Theater's arcaded walkway without knowing it.

The Main Street approach has transformed humdrum downtown districts in the U.S. into invigorating must-see places for locals and tourists alike. Such philosophy could be a source of important wisdom for us here to look back at our past and extract the relevance of those glory days to the present times. Furthermore, it reinforces the belief that the city's old Cebu Business District was and will always be economically, historically and culturally an important niche in the urban landscape.

Home Page

Articles
   Explore "Exotic Cebu"
  Real Estate Basics
  Discrete Realty Cases

Find Properties
  Featured Properties
  Setup Buyer Profile
  More Properties

Legal Fundamentals
  Philippines Civil Code
  Legal Foundations

Helpful Supplements
  Documentation Guides
  Conversion Tables
  Government Documents

Featured Development
Developer's updates, features, offers, expansions, development updates, new projects and more.

Current Events
Latest real estate updates all over Cebu and Philippines & more.

List your Property
Sale, rent or lease your property online for FREE & more.