Finding Asian American History: Manila House

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Manila House was purchased by the Visayan Circle in 1937. It served as a boarding house and gathering place for cab drivers, students, writers, musicians, soldiers, and Philippine government workers until the early 1960s. American Book Award recipient Bienvenido Santos wrote about Manila House in his collection of short stories, Scent of Apples (1955); and in 2016, Manila House was recognized as a literary landmark by the American Library Association.

This site is a part of the Finding Asian American History in Washington DC digital tour.