Manila's Grand Bridges of Pasig River: Jones, Quezon, MacArthur
Jones Bridge:
Jones Bridge constructed in the 1920's as part of the grand scheme of neo-classical architecture in Manila, designed by the same architect of the the Post Office Building, Metropolitan Theater, and US Embassy: Juan Arellano.Jones Bridge was named after William Atkinson Jones, a member of the U.S. Congress and chairman of the Insular Affairs Committee who sponsored the Philippine Autonomy Act in 1916.
Before Jones bridge, there was Puente de España, erected in 1875 to replace the earlier Puente Grande, the Puente de España can accommodate pedestrian and horse or carabao drawn carts and carriages as well as tranvias, the Puente de España needed to be destroyed and replaced by Jones Bridge to accommodate automobiles.But, again, before Puente de Espana, there was Puente Grande, a seven-arch bridge established in 1632 to link Intramuros to Binondo (established in 1592) served before by a ferry service. Puente Grande was destroyed by the earthquake of 1863 and replaced by Puente de España.
Quezon Bridge
the south end of Quezon Bridge beside Arroceros Park
the north end of Quezon bridge near Quiapo
The precursor of Quezon bridge, called Puente Colgante (suspension bridge) held the distinction as the the first suspension bridge in East Asia (I don't use Far East since I'm in the Philippines) , built in 1852 with two lanes in opposite directions for carriages and a pedestrian lane in the center island but demolished in 1938 to give way to vehicular traffic.
Quezon Bridge was opened a year after the Golden Gate Bridge was inaugurated, sporting the art deco style and inspired by the Sydney Harbor Bridge-- no wonder it looks similar!Ayala Bridge
The third tulay to be built spanning the Pasig was the Puente de Convalecencia, now known as the Ayala Bridge, originally composed of two separate spans connected by the Isla de Convalecencia, which is home to Hospisio de San Jose, the bridge over this island was originally made of wooden arched trusses. Completed in 1880 and suffered major damage to the structure and collapsed completely after 10 years. This was subsequently replaced with a simple metal saw trussed bridge during the 1890's, designed by an engineer that goes by the name of Gustave Eiffel, who later gained fame for the eponymous tower in Paris and the interiors of the Statue of Liberty, in the construction of the bridge in collaboration with Ayala y Cia.
MacArthur Bridge
MacArthur Bridge obscured by the Light Rail Transit (LRT)Those four original bridges must've been an awesome sight back then but sadly the original ones were destroyed by the Japanese during the second world war and what we're seeing today are poor reconstructions of the originals.
This last picture of a bridge crossing the Pasig, bears the mission of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission's mission:
PRRC may have been beset with problems particularly lack of funds but their continuing program of accomplishing their mission is now noticeable partcularly with the relocation of "informal settlers" along the riverbanks, the construction of linear parks of the cities and the eventual improvement of water quality.
Note that under Proclamation 780, the annual Pasig River Marathon is to be held on the month of February also declared the Pasig River Month.
This year, the marathon will be held on February 25.
Disclaimer:
the small black and white photos were not taken by me (obviously I haven't been born yet) but now belong to the public through the US archives. If I should be proven wrong, please drop a comment and I will oblige by removing the picture posted here.
Related Posts:
Pasig River Cruise,
Pasig River Lighthouse,
Pasig River Structures,
People of Pasig,
Labels: Bridges, History, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Rivers
posted by GingGoy @ 11:11 PM,
11 Comments:
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At Feb 16, 2007, 4:51:00 PM,
eye said...
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ang sharp at ganda ng photos, partida lulan ka ng ferry at cloudy ang skies :) nakita ko sa tv nung isang gabi na magkakaron na raw ng aircon passenger ferry sa pasig river, para sa mga commuters. ito ba dahilan kaya sila nagpapa-tour ngayon dito?
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At Feb 16, 2007, 5:09:00 PM,
Sebastiane said...
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Love the photos, really sharp and nice.
(:
And thanks for sharing po! -
At Feb 17, 2007, 9:57:00 AM,
Unknown said...
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Hi Tito!
Thanks for sharing brief history of how the historical bridges spanning the Pasig River were built.
MLMeneses -
At Feb 17, 2007, 10:07:00 AM,
said...
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magaganda ang mga bridges natin, pwede nga sana gaewin tourist attraction yang ilog pasig tulad ng mga river cruises sa paris, tokyo, london, singapore. kung malilinis lanbg ang ilog pasig, pwedeng pwede rin naman sa atin. yung sa bandang boni area impress na ako sa imporevemnt ng ilog. sana ma fan-out yung ginawa doon sa kahabaan ng ilog pasig.
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At Feb 17, 2007, 10:08:00 AM,
said...
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Ayus tong series mo na ito Tito. Making people aware of what's happening to the Pasig Rehabilitation and plans. Tuloy tuloy pa rin ba yung Piso para sa Pasig?
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At Feb 18, 2007, 9:53:00 AM,
said...
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Thanks for sharing:D learned a lot from those.
Especially the thing that the quezon bridge was opened a year after the Golden Gate was inaugurated. I never knew about that.
You see how Filipinos are so creative and resourceful to use styropor to make a watercraft. -
At Feb 18, 2007, 1:58:00 PM,
said...
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Interesting history of the bridges.
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At Feb 20, 2007, 5:47:00 AM,
carlotta1924 said...
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thanks for posting this, i love the pics and the trivia that comes along with each.
sana lang talaga maging malinis ng tuluyan ang pasig para mas masaya tumawid sa mga tulay na yun.
=) -
At Feb 21, 2007, 12:03:00 AM,
said...
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ืnice series....very intereting history of the bridge, they show different characters...enjoy it so much...thanks for sharing:-))
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At Feb 23, 2007, 10:50:00 PM,
Sidney said...
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Very interesting post!
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At Feb 24, 2007, 3:52:00 PM,
-= dave =- said...
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No Guadalupe Bridge and the one connecting C5? Oh well, they're not exactly historic bridges, being built only in recent decades. But these two bridges are the ones I usually cross.
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