Jones Bridge description and photos - Philippines: Manila (Topic)

Jones Bridge description and photos - Philippines: Manila. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Jones Bridge.

Photo & Description

The Jones Bridge, formerly known as the Puente de Espana, crosses the Pasig River and connects Manila's Binondo and Santa Cruz districts with the city's downtown. Today this bridge is considered the oldest in the Philippines.

Initially, the bridge, consisting of 7 arched spans, was called Puerto Grande - it was built in 1632 by the Spanish colonialists, and became the first bridge across the Pasig River. It was built of wood and connected the Binondo area with the ancient Intramuros area of Manila, allowing residents to move faster and easier from one part of the city to another.

Throughout its long history, the bridge has been destroyed more than once by earthquakes and other natural disasters. In 1863, after another strong earthquake, the bridge began to be restored again - this time it was decided to expand its spans with the help of brickwork, and the two central spans were made of iron. In the same year, the bridge was renamed Puente de Espana. After the reconstruction, the bridge has paths for pedestrians and for various types of transport - for horse-drawn carriages, for carts drawn by Asian buffaloes, and for trams.

In 1916, the bridge was again modernized, this time under the leadership of the American government, and renamed - it was named after the Republican William Atkinson Jones, author of the 1916 Philippine Declaration of Independence. The last restoration work on Jones Bridge took place in the 1930s, when features of the neoclassical style were used in its design.

Despite the fact that the Jones Bridge was once called the "King of Manila Bridges", in the 1980s it fell into oblivion, which is why it fell into a deplorable state. However, the occasional small restoration work still allows its elegant neoclassical architecture to be preserved.

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Topic: Jones Bridge description and photos - Philippines: Manila.