Named in honour of its patron saint, Saint Anthony the Abbot, the structure was originally built in 1584 in what was then a separate hamlet of Malate to serve as a rear protection for the Manila as well as to guard the Manila-Cavite route.

The Spanish used the "little fortress", Polvorista, to store gunpowder.
 The fort, known as Fort Polverina, was captured by the British when they invaded Manila in 1762 and was transformed into a British garrison from where the British forces launched their land offensive against the Spaniards defending Intramuros.
The fort was returned to Spanish control upon the end of the British occupation of Manila in 1764 and became a gunpowder storage facility.

The fort fell into American hands in 1898 during the Battle of Manila and eventually into Japanese control during World War II when it was used as a bunker.

The fort suffered considerable damage after the war but was not restored until the 1970s.
The restored fort is now enclosed within the confines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank) Complex between the Manila Metropolitan Museum and other Central Bank buildings.
Named in honour of its patron saint, Saint Anthony the Abbot, the structure was originally built in 1584 in what was then a separate hamlet of Malate to serve as a rear protection for the Manila as well as to guard the Manila-Cavite route.
The Spanish used the "little fortress", Polvorista, to store gunpowder.  The fort, known as Fort Polverina, was captured by the British when they invaded Manila in 1762 and was transformed into a British garrison from where the British forces launched their land offensive against the Spaniards defending Intramuros. The fort was returned to Spanish control upon the end of the British occupation of Manila in 1764 and became a gunpowder storage facility.
The fort fell into American hands in 1898 during the Battle of Manila and eventually into Japanese control during World War II when it was used as a bunker.
The fort suffered considerable damage after the war but was not restored until the 1970s. The restored fort is now enclosed within the confines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank) Complex between the Manila Metropolitan Museum and other Central Bank buildings.
Fort San Antonio Abad