Spanish colonial era before it was destroyed in World War 2. Prior to the arrival of the
Spanish conquistadors to the Philippine archipelago in 1521, the district of Santa Cruz was partly
marshland, patches of greenery, orchards, and
ricefields. A Spanish expedition in 1581 claimed the territory and awarded it to the
Society of Jesus. Back then it was called the island of Mayhaligue. (now Plaza Lacson) The Jesuits then built the first
Catholic church in the area, where the present
Santa Cruz Church stands on June 20, 1619. The Jesuits enshrined the image of the
Our Lady of The Pillar in 1643, and they served the area’s pre-dominantly
Chinese residents. The image attracted devotees and a popular
cultus grew around it At Santa Cruz Church, a small park was built that connected the area to the headquarters of the Spanish cavalry, which once was the Jesuit-run
Colegio de San Ildefonso. The district in Spanish times also had a
slaughterhouse and meat market, and further north was the
Chinese Cemetery. On June 24, 1784,
King Carlos III of
Spain gave the deeds to about of land that was part of the
Hacienda de Mayhaligue to
San Lázaro Hospital, which served as the regional
leprosarium.
Franciscans were charged with caring for the
lepers of the city, and Father
Félix Huerta developed San Lázaro into a refuge for the afflicted on the north side of the
Pasig River.
World War II During
World War II, the
Japanese occupying forces, caught unaware of the fast-approaching joint American and Filipino soldiers from the north, abandoned the northern banks of the Pasig including the Santa Cruz area. The district and northern portions of Manila were spared from the heavy shelling which flattened the city, and to date, a number of pre-World War II buildings still stand in Santa Cruz. When the
Third Philippine Republic was proclaimed on July 4, 1946, the San Lázaro Hospital complex became the headquarters of the
Department of Health. == Notable buildings ==