Revisiting Colonial San Nicolás and its Architecture

San Nicolas’s history is interwoven with the history of Binondo. Once a simple fishing village, the barrio of San Nicolas evolved to become Binondo’s residential and industrial enclave. This talk explores and surveys San Nicolas’ development and major architectural buildings during the Spanish colonial period — the Alcaicería de San Fernando, the tribunals of the gremios, houses, accesorias, brothels, and opium dens. Caught in the flux of economic growth, San Nicolas also emerged by the late nineteenth century a separate district from Binondo, though still religiously dependent on its mother town. It is hoped that this retrospective will provide a deeper understanding of the district and its importance in the lifeblood of its mother town Binondo.