EVOLUTION OF MANILA 1920'S - 1960'S 🇵🇭 From the 1920s to the 1960s, Manila experienced great change. Under American rule in the 1920s–30s, it became a center of trade, education, and government, with Escolta known as the "Wall Street of the Philippines." World War II brought destruction in 1945, leaving Manila almost in ruins. But the following decades saw a spirit of rebuilding—new buildings, businesses, schools, and cultural life rose again. By the 1960s, Manila had grown into a lively capit