Taft Avenue
![]() R-2 | |||
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![]() Taft Avenue in Pasay | |||
Former name(s) |
Calle Rizal Manila Road Ermita-Pasay Boulevard Daitoa Avenue Manila South Road / Mexico Road (extension only) | ||
Part of | |||
Namesake | William Howard Taft | ||
Maintained by | the Department of Public Works and Highways[1] | ||
North end |
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Major junctions |
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South end | Redemptorist Road, Elpidio Quirino Avenue, and Harrison Avenue in Parañaque | ||
Construction | |||
Completion | 1899 |
Taft Avenue (Filipino: Abenida Taft; Spanish: Avenida Taft) is a major road in the south of Metro Manila. It passes through three cities in the metropolis: Manila, Pasay and Parañaque. The road was named after the former Governor-General of the Philippines and U.S. President, William Howard Taft; the Philippines was a former commonwealth territory of the United States in the first half of the 20th century. The avenue is a component of National Route 170 (N170), a secondary road in the Philippine highway network, and anchors R-2 of the Manila arterial road network. It was previously designated as N1 in the old route numbering system.
Route description[]
From the north, Taft Avenue starts at the Lagusnilad vehicular underpass at intersection with Padre Burgos Avenue in Ermita. It then crosses the Ayala Boulevard and Finance Street and forms the eastern edge of Rizal Park up to Kalaw Avenue. It then crosses United Nations Avenue, Padre Faura Street, Pedro Gil Street (formerly known as Herran), where it also crosses the district boundary with Malate, San Andres Street and Quirino Avenue, and Pablo Ocampo Street (formerly known as Vito Cruz Street) before entering the City of Pasay. In Pasay, it crosses Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly known as Buendia Avenue), Arnaiz Avenue (formerly known as Libertad Street), and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), where the intersection is known as Pasay Rotonda. The avenue then continues south towards Baclaran in Parañaque as Taft Avenue Extension up to its terminus at its intersection with Elpidio Quirino Avenue, Harrison Avenue, and Redemptorist Road.
History[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Old_St_La_Salle_Hall.jpg/220px-Old_St_La_Salle_Hall.jpg)
Construction of this avenue, originally called Calle Rizal, was completed in 1899, with Calle Padre Burgos as its northern terminus and Calle Herran (now Pedro Gil Street) as its southern terminus. Engineers Manny Aquino and Robin Santos led its extension in 1911, and the avenue was renamed Manila Road. However, a map of Manila produced in 1915 by the Office of Department Engineer, Philippine Department, indicates it was named Taft Avenue.[2] At the height of World War II during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, it was renamed to Daitoa Avenue in 1942.[3] The avenue's portion from Padre Burgos to Herran was also one of the right-of-way alignments of tranvía that existed until 1945.[4][unreliable source?]
Having previously ended at Calle Vito Cruz (formerly Vito Cruz Street) in Malate, it was further extended towards Pasay and was named Ermita-Pasay Boulevard or Highway 50, with the route continuing past Highway 54 (P. Lovina Street, now EDSA) as Cavite-Manila South Road or Manila South Road (later renamed to Mexico Road in 1964).[5][6] Afterwards, the avenue's section from EDSA to Baclaran became Taft Avenue Extension.
The LRT Line 1, the first elevated rail track in the Philippines, was built over it and opened in 1984.
Intersections[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/0001jfTaft_Avenue_Padre_Faura_Street_Ermita_Manilafvf_02.jpg/220px-0001jfTaft_Avenue_Padre_Faura_Street_Ermita_Manilafvf_02.jpg)
This is a list of intersections of Taft Avenue. Bold indicates a street crossings.
Ermita, Manila[]
- Padre Burgos Avenue
- Antonio Villegas Street (Calle Arroceros)
- Finance Street / Ayala Boulevard (Aurora Boulevard Extension) (C-1)
- Kalaw Avenue (Calle San Luis)
- United Nations Avenue (Calle Isaac Peral) / General Luna Street
- Padre Faura Street
- G. Apacible Street (Calle Oregon)
- Josefa Llanes Escoda Street (Calle California)
- Pedro Gil Street (Calle Herran)
Malate, Manila[]
- General Malvar Street (Calle Tennessee)
- Julio Nakpil Street (Calle Vermont)
- Remedios Street
- Quirino Avenue (C-2) / San Andres Street
- The Century City Road
- Castro Street
- Dagonoy Street
- Estrada Street
- Ocampo Street (Calle Vito Cruz)
- Rafael Alunan Street
Pasay[]
- Menlo Street
- Inquimboy Street
- Leogardo Street
- Bonifacio Street
- Bernabe Street
- Lakas ng Bayan Street
- San Juan Street
- P. Samonte Street
- Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia Avenue) (C-3) (closed)
- G. Villanueva Road
- Cartimar Avenue
- Taylo Street
- College Road
- Villareal Street
- Lucban Street
- Arnaiz Avenue (Libertad Street)
- Market Road
- Primero de Mayo Street
- Escobar Street
- S. Raymundo Street
- Lions Road
- Protacio Street
- F. Sanchez Street
- Vergel Street / Pilapil Street (Vergel Street)
- Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (C-4) (Also known as Pasay Rotonda)
- Cuneta Avenue
- Narra Street
Parañaque[]
- Harrison Avenue / Elpidio Quirino Avenue (Taft Avenue Extension) / Redemptorist Road (R-2)
Attractions[]
Rizal Park[]
One of the three entrances to Rizal Park (the others being Maria Orosa Street and Roxas Boulevard), the Taft Avenue entrance is also adjacent to the National Museum of Fine Arts (formerly Old Legislative Building) and the National Museum of Anthropology (formerly the Finance Building), as well as the Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom.
Government buildings[]
Taft Avenue is home (or near) to some government buildings: the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Court of Appeals, Department of Tourism, Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippine General Hospital, National Bureau of Investigation and Times Plaza.
World Health Organization[]
The office of the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region is located on Taft Avenue, adjacent to the LRT Line 1 United Nations station.
University Belt[]
Taft Avenue forms a part of the University Belt. Universities such as the De La Salle University, College of Saint Benilde, University of the Philippines Manila, Philippine Christian University, Philippine Women's University and the Philippine Normal University are located on Taft Avenue. The Santa Isabel College Manila, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Araullo High School and the Manila Science High School also face the road directly, while Adamson University has direct walkway access from the road.
National Cathedral of the Philippine Independent Church[]
The National Cathedral of the Holy Child (Holy Infant Jesus) of the Philippine Independent Church is located on Taft Avenue.
Transportation[]
Taft Avenue is accessed through jeepneys, taxis, buses, UV Express, the LRT Line 1, and the MRT Line 3. The avenue houses some LRT Line 1 stations namely: Baclaran station (for Taft Avenue Extension), EDSA (interchange to MRT Line 3 at Taft Avenue station), Libertad, Gil Puyat, Vito Cruz, Quirino, Pedro Gil, United Nations, and Central Terminal (via Lawton Bus Terminal).
References[]
- ^ "South Manila". Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- ^ "Map of city of Manila and vicinity". Library of Congress.
- ^ Executive Order No. 41 (1942), Changing the name of Dewey Boulevard to Heiwa Boulevard; Taft Avenue to Daitoa Avenue; Harrison Boulevard to Koa Boulevard; Jones Bridge to Banzai Bridge; Harrison Park to Rizal Park; and Wallace Field and Burnham Green to Plaza Bagong Filipinas, retrieved April 26, 2021
- ^ "Malate – Ermita District: Part 1". Lou Gopal / Manila Nostalgia. June 27, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- ^ Manila, Philippines map (Map). American Red Cross Service Bureau. August 1945.
- ^ "Proclamation No. 320, s. 1964". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
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Coordinates: 14°33′51″N 120°59′39″E / 14.56417°N 120.99417°E
- Streets in Manila
- Ermita
- Malate, Manila