Description of the attraction
The Quezon Bridge, formerly known as the Claveria Bridge, is a hinged bridge that connects the Manila districts of Cuiapo and Ermita, located on opposite banks of the Pasig River. It was designed by the Basque engineer Mathias Mehakatorre and became the first suspension bridge in Asia. Today, under the bridge in the Kuipao area, there are a variety of souvenir shops selling handicrafts.
The people of Quezon Bridge are still called Puente Colgante, which can be translated from Spanish as "suspension bridge". Its construction began in 1849 and lasted for three years. The inauguration of the new bridge took place in 1852 - it was named Puente de Claveria in honor of the Philippine governor-general Narciso Claveria and Zaldua, who held this post from 1844 to 1849. The suspension bridge is 110 meters long and 7 meters wide. In the early years, he had two lines, along which horse-drawn carriages and carts drawn by buffaloes drove. Also, pedestrians could move along it, who needed to get from Kuiapo to the Intramuros fortress area.
The writer Nick Joaquin described this bridge in the 1870s: “The amazing Puente Colgante Bridge has been erected across the river, soaring in the air like a fireworks in honor of the coming century of science and technology. The new industrial era has found expression in the Philippines with the construction of unparalleled bridges throughout Asia.” It is said that it was thanks to this bridge that Manila was once called the "Paris of the East".
In the 1930s, the suspension bridge was rebuilt and converted into a modern steel structure. It was renamed Quezon Bridge in honor of Manuel Quezon, then President of the Philippines. It is rumored that the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel, the "father" of the Eiffel Tower, was involved in the design of the new look of the bridge. However, so far rumors remain only rumors, because Eiffel died in 1923, almost 10 years before the start of the grandiose reconstruction.
