When the Spaniards introduced town planning in Davao in 1848, the first three roads that
were opened were Calle San Pedro, Calle Claveria, and Calle Magallanes. Situated adjacent to
the Davao River, the peripheral areas of the roads hosted the town’s church, administrative
center, military quarters, town hall (tribunal), residential hub, and commercial center.
Later, an extension of San Pedro Street was opened on both ends. On the west was the first
public cemetery while on the east, during Spanish period, was the short road, erstwhile known
as Calle Pizarro, that even today runs alongside the city police headquarters.
Several institutions were also named after the old street, like Escuela Catolica de San Pedro
(now University of Immaculate Conception), Hospital de San Pedro (now San Pedro Hospital),
San Pedro Restaurant (a defunct Chinese eatery), and the San Pedro Printing Press.
The entry of the American occupation aggressively dissipated business activities to many
areas of the city. Aside from Calle Claveria, numerous enterprises started to occupy the
thoroughfares of Legazpi, Anda, Oyanguren, Bonifacio (now Quezon Blvd.), Cortez-Escario
(now Bonifacio), Rizal, and Bolton (now Paciano Bangoy), to name a few.
In the Commonwealth period, the iconic street hosted, among many other emerging
establishments, the Jerusalem Bazar, Davao Shokokai, H. Watari Watch Repairer & Jewelry
Store, Lucky Studio (a Japanese photo house), Giducos Book Store, Asahi-Ken (general
merchandise), Ozaka Bazar, and Osaka Hotel (a lodging inn).
In the postwar period, due to the government’s rehabilitation efforts that robustly improved
the city’s business hub, new shops, some dating from the prewar time, started to appear along
San Pedro Street, among them the F. H. Rivera & Co., A. M. Magno Educational Supply,
Modern Music School, Davao Piano Rebuilding Shop, Raymundo’s Fashion Park, The Raluma
Grocery, Delta Commercial, Filidian Bazar (a Hindu store; blend of ‘Filipino’ and ‘Indian’),
Defender Davao Photo Supply, Batangueña Store (owned by the Quinto family);
Quality Store, Vidanes Tailoring, Davao Venus Academy (renamed Venus Fashion
Academy; now Samson Polytechnic College of Davao), Doli Café, Davao Realty Investment
House, Botica Santo Niño, Burroughs Office (dealer of adding machines), H.B. Hernando Book
Store, Mabuhay Dress Shoppe, Hindustan Bazar (an Indian store), Rony’s Watch Repairing
Shop, Farmacia Castillo, Alderite Goldsmith Repairing Shop, and Price Stabilization Corp., and
Ang Mahunit Store (owned by the Amigleo family).
Through the decades, the fading vestiges of American and Japanese markers gave way to
new enterprises. Aside from the ubiquitous cinema houses (Universal, Liberty, Golden, Lyric,
Crest, etc.) that dotted the thoroughfare, some familiar names highlighted the city’s oldest
colonial road.
Among the names that stick to memory are Merco Ice Cream House (two locations), Central
Bank (Mindanao office), BIR regional office, Men Seng Hotel (two locations), International
Restaurant, Cuu Loong (city’s first Vietnamese resto), Tambuli (a chicken house), Vera Cruz
Hotel (later Pink Cloud), Everlasting Lodge, Banco Filipino (two sites), Max’s Restaurant (across
City Hall), Banco Davao (owned by the Sarmiento family), Time Tunnel (a risqué nightclub) and
Mad Max (a disco house), Manila Textile Co. (Mantex), and Lima Department Store.
There were also food houses that camouflaged as a diner by daytime but were turned to
massage parlors, brothels, and beer lounges by night. For lack of a better area to convey
passengers, San Pedro Street, once upon a time, also hosted a public transport terminal.
Today, many of the business addresses have become surplus (’ukay-ukay’) depots.
