San Nicolas, Manila

San Nicolas is one of the sixteen districts in the city of Manila, [Philippines]], located at the west central part of the city, on the northern bank of the Pasig River.

San Nicolas
District of Manila
View of the skyline of San Nicolas (left) and Binondo (right), taken from Fort Santiago, Manila
Country	Philippines
Region	National Capital Region
City	Manila
Congressional district	Part of the 3rd district of Manila
Barangays	15
Founded	1598
Founded by	Dominican Order
Named for	Saint Nicholas
Area
• Total	1.6385 km2 (0.6326 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	42,957
• Density	26,000/km2 (68,000/sq mi)
Zip codes	1010
Area codes	2

Considered as a heritage district of Manila, San Nicolas has preserved many o its 19th-century ancestral houses that depict the affluent lives of the people who used to live there.

Origins

The town of San Nicolas was originally named Baybay, meaning "shore" in Tagalog. During Spanish rule, Baybay was renamed to San Nicolas, after the patron saint of sailors, boatmen, and mariners. In 1901, during the American Occupation of the Philippines, San Nicolas became a district of the newly chartered city of Manila as its borders were extended outside the walled city presently known as Intramuros. Daniel Burnham, an American architect and urban planner, was commissioned to build a Plan of Manila. The result of the plan was the making of places and parishes that included San Nicolas.