"Quezon Bridge"

The Quezon Bridge, formerly the Claveria Bridge, is a suspension bridge that connects the Manila districts of Quiapo and Ermita across the Pasig River in the Philippines. Designed by the Basque engineer Matias Mechacatorre and completed in 1852, it was the first suspension bridge in Asia.

Souvenir shops selling handicrafts and textiles are found under the bridge's Quiapo side.

History

Known popularly as the Puente Colgante (Hanging or Suspension Bridge, in English), it was the first suspension bridge built in Southeast Asia. Started in 1849 and completed in 1852, it was built and owned by Ynchausti y Compañia, the business headed by Jose Joaquin de Ynchausti.^[1] He commissioned the design from Basque engineer Matias Mechacatorre.^[2] The bridge was first named Puente de Claveria, likely in honor of the Philippine Governor-General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua, who served from 1844-1849.

The suspension bridge measured 110 meters long and 7 meters wide, and had two lanes that allowed passage of horses and carabao-drawn carriages. It was also opened for pedestrians traveling on foot between Quiapo and Intramuros and nearby areas.

In 1854 Ynchausti brought together the Ynchausti family holdings under the above name. A Basque Spaniard born in Cadiz, de Ynchausti immigrated to the Philippines in the second quarter of the nineteenth century and built a business empire.^[1] In 1889 Ynchausti y Compañia was the largest company in the Philippines.

The 20th-century writer Nick Joaquin described the bridge as it was in the 1870s: “Across the city’s river now arched … the amazing Puente Colgante, suspended in the air, like a salute to the age of science and engineering. The Industrial Age found its expression in the Philippines in the form of a bridge unparalleled throughout Asia.” It has been said that this bridge helped Manila be nicknamed the “Paris of the Orient".

During the 1930s, the suspension bridge was reconstructed and converted into a modern steel bridge. It was renamed Quezon Bridge, after Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines at that time. Historians dispute local traditions that say the bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (This is also asserted about the Punte de Ayala.) They note the original bridge has been documented as designed by a Basque. The 1930s work was a replacement of aged materials rather than a new design.^[3] (In addition, the 1930s work was performed a decade after Eiffel died in 1923.)" - Wikipedia