Santa Cruz, Manila

Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz
District of Manila
	Plaza Santa Cruz with Carriedo Fountain and Santa Cruz Church
	Map of Manila showing the location of Santa Cruz
	Coordinates: 14°35′59″N 120°58′49″E / 14.5998366°N 120.9801955°E
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Manila
District	Part of the 3rd district of Manila
Barangays	82
Area
• Total	3.0901 km2 (1.1931 sq mi)
Population (2020)
• Total	126,735
• Density	41,000/km2 (110,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+08:00 (Philippine Standard Time)
Zip codes	1003 (Santa Cruz South); 1014 (Santa Cruz North)
Area codes	02

Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace Park and Barrio San Jose in Caloocan and the district of La Loma in Quezon City. The district belongs to the 3rd congressional district of Manila.

History

Spanish colonial era

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors to the Philippine Islands, the district of Santa Cruz was partly a marshland, patches of greeneries, orchards and partly rice fields. A Spanish expedition in 1581 claimed the territory and awarded to the Society of Jesus whose members are known as 'Jesuits'.

The Jesuits built the first Catholic church in the area where the present Santa Cruz Parish stands on June 20, 1619. The Jesuits enshrined the image of the Our Lady of The Pillar in 1643 to serve the pre-dominantly Chinese residents in the area. The image drew a lot of devotees and a popular cult grew around it.

On June 24, 1784, King Carlos III of Spain gave the deeds to about 2 km² (0.77 sq mi) of land that was part of the Hacienda de Mayhaligue to the San Lazaro Hospital which served as a caring home for lepers in Manila at that time.

At the Santa Cruz Parish, a small park was built that linked the area into the headquarters of the Spanish cavalry, the building that once was the Colegio de San Ildefonso, operated by the Jesuits. The district in the Spanish times also had a slaughter house and a meat market and up north was the Chinese cemetery.

The Franciscan fathers were given the responsibility to care for the lepers of the city and specifically the San Lazaro Hospital. Father Felix Huerta developed San Lazaro into a refuge for the afflicted and it became a famous home for those afflicted in the north side of the Pasig River.

World War II

During World War II, the Japanese occupational forces, caught unaware of the fast approaching liberation by the combined American & Filipino soldiers from the north, abandoned in 1945 the northern banks of the Pasig River including Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz and much of the northern portions of Manila were spared from the artillery bombardment and to date, a number of pre-World War II buildings and houses still stand in Santa Cruz.

When the Philippine republic was finally established in July 1946, the San Lazaro Hospital complex became the head office of the country’s Department of Health.

Notable buildings

Aerial view of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Church

The first Santa Cruz Church was built when the Arrabal (Suburb) of Santa Cruz was established by the Jesuits in the early 1600s. The church had undergone many repairs and reconstruction, with the last reconstruction done in the 1950s. Today, the church architecture employs a California Spanish Mission style facade silhouette with the usual Filipino (Asian-Hispanic mix) Baroque ornamentation. The church facade is topped with an effigy statue of Our Lady of the Pillar, the patroness of the church whose feast happens every third Sunday of October and on the 12th day of October.

Cemeteries

Santa Cruz is home to Manila's oldest cemeteries located in the district's northern section namely, La Loma Cemetery (shared with Caloocan), the Manila Chinese Cemetery, and the city's biggest, the Manila North Cemetery.

Main thoroughfares

Rizal Avenue

Rizal Avenue is the main thoroughfare in the district. The district is also accessible via the following roads:

Stations of the LRT Line 1 located in Santa Cruz are Carriedo (shared with Quiapo), Doroteo Jose, Bambang, Tayuman and Blumentritt (shared with Tondo). The Philippine National Railways has a station in Blumentritt. Jeepneys coming from Baclaran, Pasay, Valenzuela, Novaliches and Caloocan pass through Rizal Avenue.

Education

As of February 2024, the Manila Department of Education lists three senior high schools in Santa Cruz, namely Cayetano Arellano, Manuel L. Quezon (SHS) and Doña Teodora Alonzo.^[2]

Barangays

Barangay 328

Santa Cruz has 82 barangays, group in nine Zones of the City of Manila.

Zone/Barangay	Land area (km²)	Population (2020 census)
Zone 29
Barangay 297	0.03272 km²	2,005
Barangay 298	0.03450 km²	1,020
Barangay 299	0.03215 km²	1,300
Barangay 300	0.01291 km²	981
Barangay 301	0.01767 km²	448
Barangay 302	0.01031 km²	654
Barangay 303	0.06499 km²	641
Barangay 304	0.02792 km²	298
Barangay 305	0.03740 km²	645
Zone 31
Barangay 310	0.08649 km²	13,602
Barangay 311	0.04576 km²	2,401
Barangay 312	0.03626 km²	3,328
Barangay 313	0.05434 km²	2,848
Barangay 314	0.05279 km²	2,064
Zone 32
Barangay 315	0.06805 km²	1,786
Barangay 316	0.01934 km²	829
Barangay 317	0.02480 km²	1,542
Barangay 318	0.01268 km²	740
Barangay 319	0.01705 km²	1,209
Barangay 320	0.02429 km²	1,300
Barangay 321	0.01300 km²	240
Barangay 322	0.01519 km²	799
Barangay 323	0.02378 km²	1,060
Barangay 324	0.01246 km²	605
Barangay 325	0.009850 km²	522
Zone 33
Barangay 326	0.01226 km²	825
Barangay 327	0.03052 km²	1,239
Barangay 328	0.01152 km²	679
Barangay 329	0.01629 km²	439
Barangay 330	0.02729 km²	2,244
Barangay 331	0.1383 km²	924
Barangay 332	0.01247 km²	582
Barangay 333	0.01653 km²	877
Barangay 334	0.03035 km²	1,461
Barangay 335	0.02878 km²	1,350
Zone 34
Barangay 336	0.03266 km²	2,134
Barangay 337	0.02884 km²	1,386
Barangay 338	0.02865 km²	1,378
Barangay 339	0.02748 km²	1,265
Barangay 340	0.02861 km²	2,009
Barangay 341	0.03320 km²	1,463
Barangay 342	0.05714 km²	1,634
Barangay 343	0.04155 km²	2,209
Zone 35
Barangay 344	0.03498 km²	536
Barangay 345	0.02953 km²	1,149
Barangay 346	0.02944 km²	1,511
Barangay 347	0.02963 km²	1,266
Barangay 348	0.02268 km²	1,249
Barangay 349	0.01395 km²	788
Barangay 350	0.1555 km²	6,776
Barangay 351	0.05098 km²	3,401
Barangay 352	0.03569 km²	1,342
Zone 36
Barangay 353	0.04906 km²	2,232
Barangay 354	0.04162 km²	1,810
Barangay 355	0.04534 km²	970
Barangay 356	0.02078 km²	505
Barangay 357	0.02063 km²	736
Barangay 358	0.02023 km²	1,029
Barangay 359	0.01921 km²	410
Barangay 360	0.03144 km²	741
Barangay 361	0.02054 km²	715
Barangay 362	0.01722 km²	252
Zone 37
Barangay 363	0.02382 km²	559
Barangay 364	0.02242 km²	1,985
Barangay 365	0.01923 km²	1,278
Barangay 366	0.02240 km²	1,193
Barangay 367	0.03112 km²	1,708
Barangay 368	0.02616 km²	1,337
Barangay 369	0.02241 km²	1,396
Barangay 370	0.02005 km²	772
Barangay 371	0.02486 km²	842
Barangay 372	0.5443 km²	4,136
Zone 38
Barangay 373	0.01963 km²	3,788
Barangay 374	0.02657 km²	3,277
Barangay 375	0.01737 km²	3,909
Barangay 376	0.04343 km²	930
Barangay 377	0.01518 km²	578
Barangay 378	0.02461 km²	602
Barangay 379	0.009460 km²	654
Barangay 380	0.01454 km²	921
Barangay 381	0.02978 km²	1,591
Barangay 382	0.03314 km²	896

Sub-districts

Barangays

Zone	Barangays
Zone 29	Barangays 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, and 305
Zone 31	Barangays 310, 311, 312, 313, and 314
Zone 32	Barangays 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, and 325
Zone 33	Barangays 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 334, and 335
Zone 34	Barangays 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, and 343
Zone 35	Barangays 344, 345, 346, 347, 348 349, 350, 351, and 352
Zone 36	Barangays 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, and 362
Zone 37	Barangays 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, and 372
Zone 38	Barangays 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, and 382

Santa Cruz has two postal codes corresponding to its two sub-districts: 1014 for Santa Cruz North^[3] and 1003 for Santa Cruz South.^[4]

List of Streets within Santa Cruz (North)
STREETS
ALMEDA
ANACLETO
ANDRADE
ARAGON
AURORA BLVD.
BALAGUER
BALANGA
BALDWIN
BATANGAS
BECERINA
BLUMENTRITT
BOLINAO
BUGALLON
BULACAN
CAMARINES
CAVITE
CHINESE CEMETERY
CONSUELO
DINALUPIHAN
ELIAS
FELINA
FELIX HUERTAS
FIESTA
GEN. DIOKNO
ILUSTRE
IPIL
JOSE ABAD SANTOS
KALIMBAS
KARAPATAN
KUSANG LOOB
LA LOMA CEMETERY
LICO
LICO EXT.
M. HIZON
M. NATIVIDAD
MAKATA
MOUNT SAMAT
NEW ANTIPOLO
NORTH CEMETERY
OLD ANTIPOLO
ORANI
ORION
OROQUIETA
P.GUEVARRA
PAMPANGA
QUIROGA
RIVERA
RIZAL AVE.
S.REYES
SAGANI
SAMPAGUITA
SAN LAZARO HIPPODROME
SULU
TAMBUNTING
TAYABAS
TECSON
TIAGO
TINDALO
TINDALO EXT.
TOMAS MAPUA
VISION
YAKAL

List of Streets within Santa Cruz (South)
Streets
AGUILAR
ALEGRE
ALMEDA
ALONZO
ALVARADO EXT.
ALVAREZ
ALVAREZ EXT.
ANACLETO
APITONG
BAHAMA
BAMBANG
BENAVIDEZ
BERMUDA
BIAK-NA-BATO
BUSTOS
DAPDAP
DE GUIA
DIZON
DOROTEO JOSE
E. REMIGIO
ESPELETA
F.DE LEON
F. TORRES
FELIX HUERTAS
FERNANDEZ
G. ARANETA
GANDARA
GIL PUYAT
INFEROR
IPIL
J.REYES MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
KALIMBAS
KATUBUSAN
KUSANG LOOB
LA TORRE
LOPE DE VEGA
LUZON
M. NATIVIDAD
MAKATA
MALABON
MASANGKAY
MAYHALIGUE
MILAGROS
NARCISA RIZAL
OKIPINJA
ONGPIN
OROQUIETA
P. GUEVARRA
PIEDAD
QUIRICADA
REYES
SALAZAR
SAN BERNARDO
SAN LAZARO HOSPITAL
SAN NICOLAS
SANCHEZ
SANTIAGO
SOLER
SULU
TECSON
TETUAN
TINDALO
TOMAS MAPUA
TRONQUED
TUBERIA
YAKAL
YEBANA
ZACATEROS

Gallery

Religious buildings

Santa Cruz Church
Archdiocesan Shrine of Espiritu Santo
San Roque Church
Bethel Knox United Methodist Church

Civic institutions

Commercial establishments

Chinatown (Plaza Santa Cruz), Third Welcome Gate (Arch of Goodwill) to Ongpin Street towards Binondo
Ongpin Commercial Center
Bank of the Philippine Islands at Don Román Santos Building, a neo-classical, Graeco-Roman structure at Plaza Goiti (now Plaza Lacson)
Carriedo Street with Plaza Lacson in the background
Commercial Buildings in Rizal Avenue
San Lazaro Tourism and Business Park (formerly the San Lázaro Racetrack)
Capitan Pepe Building