Editing Intramuros (section)

===American period (1898–1946)===
[[File:Intramuros cannon.JPG|thumb|1902 photo taken by US military personnel showing Spanish artillery]][[File:Philippine Island - Manila - NARA - 68156589.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Walled City, 1939]]After the end of the [[Spanish–American War]], Spain surrendered the Philippines and several other territories to the United States as part of the terms of the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]] for $20&nbsp;million. The American flag was raised at [[Fort Santiago]] on August 13, 1898, indicating the start of American rule over the city.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The Ayuntamiento became the seat of the [[Philippine Commission]] of the United States in 1901. Fort Santiago became the headquarters of the Philippine Division of the [[United States Army]].{{cn|date=May 2025}}
[[File:Santo Tomas walled city Philippines.jpg|thumb|313x313px|Plaza de Santo Tomas]]
The Americans made drastic changes to Manila, such as in 1903, when the walls from the Santo Domingo Gate up to the Almacenes Gate were removed as the wharf on the southern bank of the [[Pasig River]] was improved.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The stones removed were used for other construction happening around the city.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

The walls were breached in four areas to ease access to the city: the southwestern end of ''Calle Aduana'' (now Andres Soriano Jr. Ave.); the eastern end of ''Calle Anda''; the northeastern end of ''Calle Victoria'' (previously known as ''Calle de la Escuela''); and the southeastern end of ''Calle Palacio'' (now General Luna Street).{{cn|date=May 2025}} The double moats that surrounded Intramuros were deemed unsanitary and were filled in with mud dredged from [[Manila Bay]], where the present [[Port of Manila]] is now located. The moats were transformed into a municipal golf course by the city.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Reclamations for the construction of the Port of Manila, the [[Manila Hotel]], and [[Rizal Park]] obscured the old walls and skyline of the city from [[Manila Bay]].<ref>City of Manila. [https://archive.org/details/annualreport31boargoog "Annual Report of the City of Manila, 1905"], p.71. Manila Bureau of Printing.</ref>  The Americans also founded the first school under the new government, the [[Manila High School (Intramuros)|Manila High School]], on June 11, 1906, along Victoria Street.<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=25235 "Manila High School"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826005909/http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=25235 |date=August 26, 2016 }}. The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved on October 11, 2012.</ref>

In 1936, Commonwealth Act No. 171 was passed requiring that all future buildings to be constructed in Intramuros adopt Spanish colonial type architecture.

====World War II and Japanese occupation====

In December 1941, the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|invaded the Philippines]]. The first casualties in Intramuros were the destruction of [[Santo Domingo Church]] and the original [[University of Santo Tomas]] campus during an assault. The whole city of Manila was declared by General [[Douglas MacArthur]] as an [[open city]] as Manila was indefensible.

In January 1945, the battle for the [[Battle of Manila (1945)|liberation of Manila]] began when American troops returned. Intense urban fighting occurred between the combined American and Filipino troops under the [[United States Army]] and [[Philippine Commonwealth Army]] including recognized [[guerrillas]], against the 30,000 Japanese defenders. As the battle continued, both sides inflicted heavy damage on the city culminating with the [[Manila massacre]] by Japanese troops.<ref name="On Law & Country">Ramsey, Russell Wilcox (1993). [https://books.google.com/books?id=TD1mNmgB2DoC "On Law & Country"], pg. 41. Braden Publishing Company, Boston.</ref>

The Imperial Japanese Army was pushed back, eventually retreating into the Intramuros district. General MacArthur, though opposed to the bombing of the walled city, approved heavy shelling, which resulted in deaths of over 16,665 Japanese within Intramuros.<ref name="On Law & Country"/>
Two of the eight gates of Intramuros were badly damaged by American tanks. The bombings levelled most of Intramuros, leaving only 5% of the city structures. 40% of the walls were destroyed in the bombings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paclas.org.ph/article_intramuros.pdf |title=A SHORT HISTORY AND GUIDE TO INTRAMUROS |author=Esperanza Bunag Gatbonton |publisher=Philippine Academic Consortium for Latin American Studies |access-date=December 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224094931/http://www.paclas.org.ph/article_intramuros.pdf |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The Sack of Manila">{{cite web|url=http://www.battlingbastardsbataan.com/som.htm |title=The Sack of Manila |publisher=The Battling Bastards of Bataan (battlingbastardsbataan.com) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820081703/http://www.battlingbastardsbataan.com/som.htm |archive-date=August 20, 2010 |access-date=August 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Over 100,000 Filipino men, women and children died from February 3 to March 3, 1945, during the [[Battle of Manila (1945)|Battle of Manila]].

At the end of World War II, all of the buildings and structures in Intramuros were destroyed, with only the damaged [[San Agustin Church, Manila|San Agustin Church]] still standing.<ref name="The Sack of Manila"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palhbooks.com/escoda.htm |title=Genocide in Manila |first=Miguel A. |last=Bernad |publisher=Philippine American Literary House (palhbooks.com) |location=California, USA |at=PALH Book |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619182136/http://www.palhbooks.com/escoda.htm |archive-date=June 19, 2010 |access-date=August 7, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=91871&d=7&m=2&y=2007&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion |title=The Warsaw of Asia: How Manila was Flattened in WWII |first=Manuel L.  |last=Quezon III |author-link=Manuel L. Quezon III |date=February 7, 2007 |publisher=Arab News Online (archive.arabnews.com) |location=Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |at=Opinion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330181428/http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0&article=91871&d=7&m=2&y=2007&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion |archive-date=March 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 7, 2010}}</ref>