Taft Avenue

R-2
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
  • R-2 R-2
  • N170 from Padre Burgos Avenue to EDSA
NamesakeWilliam Howard Taft
Maintained bythe Department of Public Works and Highways[1]
Length7 km (4.3 mi)[2]
Approximate length
North end N150 (Padre Burgos Avenue) in Manila
Major
junctions
South endRedemptorist Road, Elpidio Quirino Avenue, and Harrison Avenue in Parañaque
Construction
Completion1899

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.

Route description

Taft Avenue south of United Nations Avenue

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 Street, where it also crosses the district boundary with Malate), San Andres Street, 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 delos 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

De La Salle College on Taft Avenue, c. 1920

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.[3] At the height of World War II during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, it was renamed to Daitoa Avenue in 1942.[4] The avenue's portion from Padre Burgos to Herran was also one of the right-of-way alignments of tranvía that existed until 1945.[5]

Having previously ended at Calle San Andres in Malate, it was later extended towards Calle Vito Cruz (present-day Pablo Ocampo Street) in 1940.[6] It was later extended towards Pasay, then a part of the province of Rizal, 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).[7][8] 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.

Proposed renaming to Senator Jose W. Diokno Avenue

In 1998, bills to rename Taft Avenue to Senator Jose W. Diokno Avenue, after the former senator and nationalist were authored in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. Senator Franklin Drilon later filed Senate Bill No. 2011 in 2002;[9] it was passed on the second reading in January 2004. Manila local officials led by Mayor Lito Atienza opposed the passage, citing that William Howard Taft was a "key figure in the history" of the Philippines and of Manila for establishing a civil government in the country and the move was against their city ordinance passed in 1998 or 1999 to disallow renaming of streets.[10][11]

Later on June 30, 2004, Senator Sergio Osmeña III authored Senate Bill No. 497, another Senate bill seeking to rename Taft Avenue to Senator Jose W. Diokno Avenue. However, the bill is still pending in the Committee as of August 2004.[12]

It is unlikely that Taft Avenue will be renamed as a different road further west in Bay City has been named Jose W. Diokno Boulevard.

Attractions

Rizal Park

Rizal Park along Taft Avenue

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 adjacent) to some government buildings: the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Court of Appeals, 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 corner United Nations 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, De La Salle–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.

Intersections

Taft Avenue's intersection with EDSA, also known as Pasay Rotonda

Intersections are numbered by kilometer post, with Rizal Park in Manila designated as kilometer zero.[2] 

ProvinceCity/MunicipalitykmmiDestinationsNotes
Manila N150 (Padre Burgos Avenue)Northern terminus. No left turn from northbound.
Antonio Villegas StreetNorthbound entrance and exit only.
N180 (Finance Road & Ayala Boulevard) C-1Traffic light intersection.
N155 (Kalaw Avenue)Traffic light intersection.
N156 (United Nations Avenue) / General Luna StreetTraffic light intersection.
N157 (Padre Faura Street)Traffic light intersection. One-way road.
Apacible StreetNorthbound entrance only.
PGH RoadTraffic light intersection. Access to Philippine General Hospital
Escoda StreetNorthbound entrance only.
Pedro Gil StreetTraffic light intersection.
General Malvar StreetTraffic light intersection.
Nakpil StreetTraffic light intersection.
31.9Remedios StreetTraffic light intersection.
N140 (Quirino Avenue) / San Andres Street C-2Traffic light intersection. No left turn on both sides.
Castro StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Dagonoy StreetNorthbound access only.
42.5Estrada StreetTraffic light intersection. Entrance only.
Pablo Ocampo StreetTraffic light intersection. No left turn from northbound.
PasayMenlo StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Inquimboy StreetNorthbound access only.
Leogardo StreetNorthbound entry only.
Lakas ng Bayan StreetNorthbound entry only.
San Juan StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Samonte StreetNorthbound access only.
N190 (Gil Puyat Avenue) C-3Opposite directions provided by U-turn slot.
G. Villanueva StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Cartimar RoadTraffic light intersection.
Taylo StreetUnsignalized intersection.
College RoadUnsignalized intersection.
Villareal StreetUnsignalized intersection. Entrance only.
53.1Arnaiz AvenueTraffic light intersection.
Market RoadSouthbound entry only.
Primero de Mayo StreetSouthbound access only.
Escobal StreetSouthbound access only.
Raymundo StreetSouthbound access only.
Lions Road, Protacio StreetUnsignalized intersection.
74.3F. Sanchez StreetSouthbound entry only.
Vergel Street, Pilapil StreetUnsignalized intersection.
AH 26 (N1) (EDSA) C-4Traffic light intersection (Pasay Rotonda). No left turn on both sides. Change from N170 to unnumbered highway.
Cuneta AvenueUnsignalized intersection.
F. Angeles StreetSouthbound only.
Narra StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Park AvenueSouthbound only.
ParañaqueE. Rodriguez StreetUnsignalized intersection.
Elpidio Quirino Avenue R-2, Harrison AvenueSouthern terminus and southern end of R-2 segment. Continues southwards as Redemptorist Road.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Transportation

Jeepneys serve as alternative mode of transportation along Taft Avenue

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

  1. ↑ "South Manila". Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Road and Bridge Inventory". Department of Public Works and Highways. Archived from the original on June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  3. ↑ Map of city of Manila and vicinity (Map). 1:10560. Office of Dept. Engineer, Phil. Dept. 1919.
  4. ↑ 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
  5. ↑ "Malate – Ermita District: Part 1". Lou Gopal / Manila Nostalgia. June 27, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  6. ↑ Castro, Alex (October 4, 2017). "Take a Retro Trip Down Taft Avenue". Spot.ph. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  7. ↑ Manila, Philippines map (Map). American Red Cross Service Bureau. August 1945.
  8. ↑ Presidential Proclamation No. 320, s. 1964 (October 2, 1964), Naming the Cavite-Manila South Road as Mexico Road, retrieved April 15, 2022
  9. ↑ Vanzi, Sol Jose (March 1, 2002). "DRILON WANTS TAFT AVENUE RENAMED DIOKNO AVENUE". PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE. Manila. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Manila expresses outrage over renaming of Taft Avenue". The Philippine Star. January 25, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  11. ↑ Sison, Bebot Jr.; Felipe, Cecille Suerte (January 29, 2004). "Manila officials oppose renaming of Taft Avenue". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ "13th Congress - Senate Bill No. 497". Senate of the Philippines. June 30, 2004. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
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