Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

in the

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, which runs along the shores of

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

trees. The divided roadway has become a trademark of Philippine tourism, famed for its

yacht club A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mar ...

, hotels, restaurants, commercial buildings and parks. The boulevard was completed in the 1910s. Originally called ''Cavite Boulevard'', it was renamed ''Dewey Boulevard'' in honor of the American admiral

George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, wi ...

, whose forces defeated the Spanish navy in the

Battle of Manila Bay The Battle of Manila Bay (; ), also known as the Battle of Cavite, took place on May 1, 1898, during the Spanish–American War. The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific Squad ...

in 1898, ''Heiwa Boulevard'' in late 1941 during the Japanese occupation, and finally Roxas Boulevard in 1963 in honor of

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

, the fifth president of the Philippines. It was also designated as a new alignment of the Manila South Road that connects Manila to the southern provinces of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

. The boulevard is also an eight-lane major

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights o ...

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 61 (N61), the shortest primary route in the Philippines, 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 a spur of Asian Highway 26 (AH26). The arcing road runs north–south from

Luneta 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 wa ...

in Manila to Parañaque at the intersection of

MIA Road Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...

and Seaside Drive of the reclaimed area of

Entertainment City Entertainment City, also known as E-City (formerly PAGCOR City and Manila Bay Tourism City), is a gaming and entertainment complex under development by PAGCOR spanning an area of in Bay City, Metro Manila. It was first envisioned by PAGCOR in 2 ...

beneath the elevated

NAIA Expressway The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway (NAIAX), signed as E6 of the Philippine expressway network, is a elevated highway in Metro Manila, Philippines. Opened in September 2016, it is the first airport expressway in the country. Th ...

. Beyond its southern terminus is the

Manila–Cavite Expressway The Manila–Cavite Expressway (more popularly known as CAVITEX), signed as E3 of the Philippine expressway network and R-1 of Metro Manila's arterial road network, is a controlled-access highway linking Manila to the southern province of ...

(E3), also formerly known as the Coastal Road, and now more popularly, CAVITEX.

History

City Beautiful movement

Cavite Boulevard was part of Architect

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the ''Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been "the most successful power broker the American archi ...

's plan to beautify the city of Manila.(1910)
"Report of the Philippine Commission to the Secretary of War"
pg.68. Government Printing Office, Washington. At the request of Commissioner

William Cameron Forbes William Cameron Forbes (May 21, 1870 – December 24, 1959) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He served as governor-general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 and ambassador of the United States to Japan from 1930 to 1932. Ear ...

, Burnham visited the country in 1905 at the height of the

City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...

, a trend in the early 1900s in America to make cities beautiful along scientific lines, for the future urban development of Manila and

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

.(1907-03)
"Far Eastern Review - Details and Description of the Burnham Plans for the Reconstruction of Manila"
pg.322. Google Books. Retrieved on April 13, 2012.

Original concept

According to Burnham's original concept of the Cavite Boulevard, the bayfront from the Luneta southward should be a continuous parkway, extending with time to the

Cavite Navy Yard Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, it is one of the most industri ...

about away. This boulevard, about in width, with

roadways A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) is a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of traffic lane ...

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

ways, bridle paths, rich

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s, and broad

sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Hiberno-English, Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constr ...

s, should be available for all classes of people in all sorts of conveyances, and so well-shaded with

coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es as to furnish protection from the elements at all times. "In order to make the boulevard presentable and useful as soon as possible, a quick-growing tree like the

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

might be planted, alternating with the trees of slower growth, and be replaced after the latter attain their growth. The boulevard's seaward side should be planted so as to interrupt occasionally the view of the sea and, by thus adding somewhat of mystery, enhance the value of the stretch of ocean and sky. The boulevard would be on

reclaimed land Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamatio ...

to about as far south as the old

Fort San Antonio Abad Fort San Antonio Abad (), also known as Fort Malate or Fort San Antonio, is a fortification located in the Malate district of Manila, Philippines, completed in 1584 during the Spanish colonial period. History Named in honor of its patron sai ...

Malate Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms ( ...

, beyond which it strikes the beach and follows the shoreline to Cavite. The possible extension of the ocean boulevard along the north shore would naturally depend upon the development of the town in that direction and upon the question of additional harbor works north of 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 ...

." During

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 boulevard served as a runway of its namesake airfield. During the 1945 Battle of Manila, however, the Japanese forces cut down palm trees along the boulevard to convert it into an improvised runway.

Contemporary history

In 1992, flyovers crossing intersecting roads along the boulevard, such as the Roxas Boulevard–Gil Puyat Flyover and Roxas Boulevard–EDSA Flyover, were opened. On May 13, 2024,

Manila Mayor The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...

Honey Lacuña signed Ordinance No. 9047 to make Roxas the boulevard's starting point ( Padre Burgos Avenue/Katigbak Parkway) to

Quirino Avenue President Elpidio Quirino Avenue, more commonly known as Quirino Avenue, is a 6-10 lane divided highway in Manila, Philippines. It runs for in a northeast–southwest direction from Nagtahan Bridge (now Mabini Bridge) across Santa Mesa, Mani ...

section car-free every early Sunday morning starting May 26, 2024.

Route description

Roxas Boulevard starts at the junction with Katigbak Parkway and

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

as a continuation of

Bonifacio Drive Bonifacio Drive is a road running approximately in a north-south direction between Intramuros and the Port Area, Manila, Port Area in Manila, Philippines. The boulevard is also designated as Radial Road 1 (R-1) of Manila's arterial road netwo ...

. The road passes through many tall buildings, restaurants, banks, monuments, and other establishments as it curves along

. The

United States Embassy The United States has the second largest number of active diplomatic posts of any country in the world after the People's Republic of China, including 272 bilateral posts (embassies and consulates) in 174 countries, as well as 11 permanent miss ...

is located near Rizal Park. A kilometer south are the headquarters of

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...

(BSP) and

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

in the

district of Manila. After the BSP building, the boulevard enters

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

, passing through the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) established to preserve, develop and promote Arts in the Philippines, arts and Culture of the Philippines, culture in the Philippines.Presid ...

(CCP Complex) and Star City. It then intersects with

Gil Puyat Avenue Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, also known simply as Gil Puyat Avenue and by its former official name Buendia Avenue, is a major arterial thoroughfare which runs east–west through Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, Philippines. It is one ...

and Jose W. Diokno Boulevard, where it ascends through the Gil Puyat Flyover. It then parallels

Macapagal Boulevard Macapagal Boulevard, also known as President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and Macapagal Avenue, is an eight-lane road in Metro Manila, Philippines, running parallel to Roxas Boulevard from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex in Pasa ...

. It ascends again to intersect

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA (), is a major circumferential road around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, namel ...

(EDSA) through the flyover of the same name; there, the route number transitions from N120/

AH26 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 ...

, a secondary road, to N61, a primary road. A few meters after passing EDSA, it enters

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

, continues into a straight route until it ends on an intersection with

and Seaside Drive, where the road continues south as the

(CAVITEX/E3), which is also known as Coastal Road.

Landmarks

This list is ordered from north to south:

Manila

** Kilometer Zero ** Independence Flagpole * Museo Pambata *

Embassy of the United States in Manila The Embassy of the United States of America in Manila is the diplomatic mission of the United States in the Philippines. Its chancery is situated by Roxas Boulevard in Ermita, City of Manila. The Embassy has been representing the United States ...

* Pearl of the Orient Tower * Grand Riviera Suites * Plaza Nuestra Señora de Guia (Plaza Ferguson) * 1322 Golden Empire Tower *

Manila Dolomite Beach Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach, commonly known as Dolomite Beach, is an Beach#Artificial beaches, artificial beach along Manila Bay in Manila, Philippines created through the process of beach nourishment. It is part of an overall integrated coas ...

Baywalk The Baywalk is a popular seaside promenade and beachfront overlooking Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, the Philippines. The Baywalk is a two-kilometre stretch from the US Embassy near Rizal Park up to the Cultural Center of the Phili ...

* Ramon Magsaysay Center *

Plaza Rajah Sulayman Plaza Rajah Sulayman, also known as Rajah Sulayman Park, is a public square in Malate, Manila. It is bounded by Roxas Boulevard to the west, San Andres Street to the south, and Remedios Street to the north. The plaza is considered the center of M ...

Malate Church Our Lady of Remedies Parish, commonly known as Malate Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church in the district of Malate in the city of Manila, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila. This Mexican Baroque-style ...

(Our Lady of Remedies Parish) ** ''The Aristocrat'' (a nearly hundred year-old Filipino restaurant and bakery+pastry shop) * Admiral Hotel *

Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center The Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center (Hospital of Manila; abbreviation: OMMC) is a 300-bed non-profit tertiary, general and training hospital in Malate, Manila, Philippines. It is the laboratory hospital of health science students (students of ...

* Department of Finance *

** BSP Museum **

* Manila Yacht Club * Naval Station Jose Andrada (

headquarters)

Pasay

Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex The Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, also known as the CCP Complex, is an Arts district, art district managed by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) located along Roxas Boulevard in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a mixed- ...

** Star City *

Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

Home Office (under renovation) * Philippine Trade Training Center *

Cuneta Astrodome Cuneta Astrodome, also known as Pasay Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is an indoor arena located in Pasay, Philippines. The arena has hosted Philippine Basketball Association games from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2001 onwards, and also cur ...

* United States Embassy - Seafront Annex ** US Veterans Affairs Office - Manila Regional Office * Embassy of Japan in Manila * Midas Hotel and Casino *

San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Inc. (SJDEFI or SJ, formerly Hospital de San Juan de Dios) is a private, non-stock, non-profit, joint institute of education and tertiary health sciences operating as a college and a hospital in Pasay, P ...

* Heritage Hotel Manila * Kanlaon Condominium - original site of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

Parañaque

Baclaran Church The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also known as the Redemptorist Church () and colloquially as Baclaran Church (), is a national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque cit ...

* Redemptorist-Aseana station *

City of Dreams Manila City of Dreams Manila is a luxury integrated resort and casino complex located on the Entertainment City gaming strip at Asean Avenue and Roxas Boulevard in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. Overview City of Dreams Manila is owned b ...

MIA Road station MIA Road station, also known as MIA station, is an elevated Light Rail Transit (LRT) station located on the LRT Line 1 (LRT-1) system in Parañaque. It is part of the Line 1 Cavite Extension Project, which opened to the public on November 16, ...

Palacio de Memoria The Palacio de Memoria ("Palace of Memory") is a historic mansion in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is currently owned by the Lhuillier Family, and is used as an events venue. It also host an auction house, known as the Casa de Memoria. ...

Intersections

References

External links

Philippines Tourist Attractions
{{coord, 14, 34, 05, N, 120, 59, 00, E, display=title Streets in Manila Boulevards Ermita Malate, Manila Bike lanes in Metro Manila