Malate

The word Malate is believed to have stemmed from the corruption of the Tagalog word "ma-alat," meaning "salty." Legends have it that tidewaters from Manila Bay flowed in-land as far as where the Remedios Circle is presently located. The salty sea water polluted the fresh water collected from wells, thus making drinking water in the area as salty as seawater.

The district is located at the southern end of the city of Manila, adjacent to Pasay City as its southern most border. North of Malate is the district Ermita and towards the east with San Marcelino street as border is the district of Paco.

During the Spanish period, the center of activity was focused around the Malate church, the Our Lady of Remedios Parish that had a cult following among pregnant women having a difficult pregnancy.

The once exclusive residential areas on the western portion of Malate started to transform in the 1970s into a commercial area with some big lotted houses and residential apartments being converted into small hotels and pensionne houses. Specialty restaurants and cafes also started to open in the district, as a result of the spill over of business from next-door Ermita district, which was for a time the red-light district of Manila. Malate has also been called the center of gay night life,and has a Gay Pride Parade every year.

GOVERNMENT OFFICES
The country's forefront financial agencies like the Department of Finance, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (Philippines Central Bank) and lending institution LandBank of the Philippines established their headquarters in the district, while the National Naval Command Headquarters of the Philippine Navy, a unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is at the boundary limits of Manila and Pasay City along Roxas Boulevard. Locating a fully functional medical facility is the city-subsidized Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center.

The district is also home to the country's first sports stadium, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and the country's premiere zoological park, the Manila Zoological and Botanical Gardens.Promenades by the Manila Bay has been made more convenient and safe with the opening of the Manila Baywalk that starts near the junction of Pedro Gil St. and Roxas Boulevard. Tourists and alike can enjoy different types of al fresco restaurants and cafes and further down south of the path is the exclusive Manila Yacht Club.
Malate Church

PARKS
The district is also home to the country's first sports stadium, the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and the country's premiere zoological park, the Manila Zoological and Botanical Gardens.Promenades by the Manila Bay has been made more convenient and safe with the opening of the Manila Baywalk. In front of the Malate Church or the historical Parish of Our Lady of Remedios is the Rajah Sulayman Park that boasts of a dancing water fountain. Further down Remedio street towards the east is the Remedios Circle that was improved and renovated under the administration of Mayor Jose L. Atienza, Jr. in 2006.

Several restaurants have been erected at Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard. However, because of a city ordinance, the businesses are now located in the bayside of SM Mall of Asia. An open playground across the Manila Zoo was also renovated and improved and is now called, the Leveriza Children's Park.

source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia