Granada Street, also known as Senator Jose O. Vera Street, is a road in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the seat of government and one of three defined metropolitan areas in ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It runs from Nicanor Domingo Street as an extension of

Gilmore Avenue Gilmore Avenue is a main road and suburban distributor in Kwinana south of Perth, and runs through or alongside the suburbs of Medina, Orelia, Calista and Leda, linking them to the Kwinana Freeway via Thomas Road and also to Kwinana Hub S ...

to the boundary with San Juan, where it terminates at Bonny Serrano Avenue and becomes

Ortigas Avenue Ortigas Avenue is a highway running from eastern Metro Manila to western Rizal in the Philippines. It is one of the busiest highways in Metro Manila, serving as the main thoroughfare of the metro's east–west corridor, catering m ...

Route description

The land on which the street lies on used to be part of an estate owned by the family of José O. Vera, founder of

Sampaguita Pictures Sampaguita Pictures was a Philippine film production company. It was named for the Philippine national flower, sampaguita. Though no longer functioning, the company's Sampaguita Compound remains in Quezon City. History Sampaguita Pictures was es ...

and later Senator from 1946 to 1949. In the late 1950s, Quezon City mayor Norberto S. Amoranto convinced the Vera family to permit construction of the street through their property, part of a project to improve connectivity between Quezon City — at the time the capital of the Philippines — and the surrounding suburbs, particularly those headed to New Manila from

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

and

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along t ...

. The family sold of land to the Quezon City government at a significant discount to facilitate construction of the road, and its completion enabled direct access to Quezon City from eastern Metro Manila without needing to go through side streets or

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or citie ...

. In 2004, the street was renamed after Vera by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Quezon City. Today, Granada Street is known for being home to several ''

parol A parol (, , also written as paról or parul, from Spanish ''farol'', meaning ''lantern'') is a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season. Parols are traditionally constructed using bamboo and Japanese paper, and are ...

'' (Christmas lantern) vendors which line both sides of the street, giving it the name "Parol Row". Also known as the ''Parolan sa San Juan'' ("Lantern Area on the San Juan"), selling lanterns here began in the 1990s, when Sampaguita Pictures crewmen made lanterns and sold them outside the studio premises to generate extra income. Several vendors sell their lanterns here from September to December every year, with some selling the rest of the year as well. The street is also a culinary destination, having held this distinction since the 1970s. Modern-day dining establishments along the street include Gavino's Donuts, known for their Japanese-style

donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...

, and Mien-San, known for their Chinese-style steamed

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

and other dishes.

References

{{coord, 14, 36, 34.3, N, 121, 02, 14.2, E, type:landmark, display=title Streets in Quezon City