Taft Avenue

Taft Avenue is a major road thoroughfare in Metro Manila. It crosses through three major cities of the capital region: 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 twentieth century.

History

Construction of this avenue, originally called "Calle Rizal", was completed in 1899, with Padre Burgos Street (C-1) 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. It was extended to Ocampo Street (formerly Vito Cruz Street in 1940, at the height of World War II, during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. It was further extended to Buendia Avenue (now Gil Puyat Avenue) in 1959 and was named 'Ermita-Pasay Boulevard' or Highway 50, and was further extended to P. Lovina Street or Highway 54 Extension where it ends, with the route continuing as Mexico Road. It was renamed Taft Avenue in 1984 and it also reclaimed Mexico Road. The Manila LRT Line 1, the first elevated rail track in the Philippines, was built over it and opened in that same year.