This early photograph, preserved in a personal souvenir album, captures a bustling waterway in Manila crowded with cascos and bancas — traditional cargo boats that once formed the lifeblood of the city's river trade. Lining the far bank, colonial-era warehouses and a factory smokestack reflect Manila's role as a commercial hub during the American colonial period. Scenes like this, common along the Pasig River and its connecting esteros, vanished almost entirely after the widespread destruction of the Battle of Manila in 1945, making this quiet riverside image a valuable record of the city as it once was. Project: 218606