Bonifacio Drive is a road running approximately in a north-south direction between

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

and the Port Area in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The boulevard is also designated as

Radial Road 1 Radial Road 1 (R-1), informally known as the R-1 Road, is a network of roads and bridges which comprise the first arterial road of Metro Manila in the Philippines. Spanning some , it connects the cities and municipalities of Bacoor, General Tria ...

(R-1) of

Manila's arterial road network This list of roads in Metro Manila summarizes the major thoroughfares and the numbering system currently being implemented in Metro Manila, Philippines. Metro Manila's major road network comprises six Ring road, circumferential roads and ten Art ...

, National Route 120 (N120) of the

Philippine highway network The Philippine highway network is a network of highway, national roads owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and organized into three classifications according to their function or purpose: national primar ...

, and an auxiliary route of

Asian Highway 26 The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway (; ), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the Philippines, serving as the country's p ...

(AH26). The boulevard is named after national hero

Andrés Bonifacio Andrés Bonifacio y de Castro (, ; November 30, 1863May 10, 1897) was a Filipino people, Filipino revolutionary leader. He is often called "The Father of the Philippines, Philippine Philippine Revolution, Revolution", and considered a nationa ...

, the ''Supremo'' of the

Katipunan The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

and thus the father of the 1896

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

against the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. Another street in Manila is also named Bonifacio Drive. It is located at the

Tutuban Center Tutuban Center is a shopping complex and public transit hub in Manila, Philippines that opened in 1993. It encompasses five retail buildings and a parking building in and around Manila's central train station located in the shopping precinct of ...

shopping complex in Tondo.

History

Philippine Island - Manila - NARA - 68156667

The road was previously called Malecon Drive during the American period. During Spanish rule, it was known simply as Malecón (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for waterfront esplanade), as the road was such before the reclamation of South Harbor ( Port Area) during the late 19th century. It was also known alternatively as Paseo de María Cristina, after the then Queen of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Maria Cristina, or Paseo de Santa Lucia. It was later renamed to Calle A. Bonifacio or Calle Bonifacio. It used to connect

Luneta Park Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated was ...

to the southern bank of the Pasig River, where the

Anda Monument The Anda Monument, often erroneously referred to as the Anda Circle after the roundabout where it is currently located, is an obelisk monument situated on the boundary of Intramuros and Port Area in central Manila, Philippines. It was erected i ...

was previously located. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the monument was transferred to its present site at the road's intersection with Calle Aduana, which was converted into a present-day

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

called Anda Circle. In 1975, Roxas Bridge (also known as Del Pan Bridge and in the present-day as Mel Lopez Bridge) was built to connect Bonifacio Drive to the northern parts of Manila across the Pasig River. In 2019, Bonifacio Drive's section from Anda Circle to Roxas Bridge became part of the newly-renamed

Mel Lopez Boulevard Mel Lopez Boulevard, formerly known as President Ferdinand E. Marcos Highway or simply as Marcos Road, is a , six-to-ten-lane divided highway in northern Manila, Philippines, connecting Bonifacio Drive in Port Area, Manila, Port Area and Intra ...

by virtue of Republic Act No. 11280.

Route description

Bonifacio Drive is the northern extension of

Roxas Boulevard Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a tradem ...

from

Padre Burgos Avenue Padre Burgos Avenue, also known as Padre Burgos Street, is a 14-lane thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The road was named after Jose Burgos, one of the martyred Gomburza priests who were executed at the nearby Bagumbayan Field (presen ...

and Katigbak Parkway in

Rizal Park Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated was ...

to Anda Circle, where it intersects Andrés Soriano Avenue (formerly ''Calle Aduana''), the main road to

, and Roberto Oca Street, a road to Port Area. North of the traffic circle, Bonifacio Drive continues as

, heading into North Harbor and the districts of San Nicolas and Tondo via Roxas Bridge (also known as Del Pan Bridge and Mel Lopez Bridge) over the

Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...

Landmarks

Establishments along Bonifacio Drive include the

Manila Hotel The Manila Hotel is a 550-room, historic five-star hotel located along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines.

, the

Department of Public Works and Highways The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for serving as the country's engineering and construction arm. It is tasked with implementing the government's policy to ...

headquarters, the

Philippine Ports Authority The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation as an attached agency. It is responsible for the financing, management and operations of public ports throughout ...

headquarters, the headquarters of the

Order of the Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Orden de Caballeros de Rizál''; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Mga Maginoo ni Rizal''; sometimes abbreviated as KOR) is an order of chivalry of the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ...

, the Port Area office of

National Power Corporation The National Power Corporation (, also known as NAPOCOR, NPC or National Power) is a Philippine government-owned and controlled corporation that is mandated to provide electricity to all rural areas of the Philippines by 2025 (known as "mission ...

(which once housed the MMDA Workers' Inn), and the Santa Lucia Gate. Located on the east of the entire stretch of the road is the Club Intramuros Golf Course.

References

{{Road infrastructure in Manila Streets in Manila Port Area, Manila