"Photo-tour" along Jones Bridge

Binondo Chinatown is a district in Manila that was important to the Spanish Colonial Government. Chinese businesses and trade were located in Binondo Chinatown. The old ports of Manila North Harbor and District of Tondo were likewise connected to Binondo. Because of this, the colonial government established a bridge that spanned the Pasig River to connect Intramuros and Binondo. That bridge was named as Puente Grande and then renamed as Puente de España.

Unfortunately, Puente de España was damaged during the floods that occurred on September 1914. The burden of replacing the damaged bridge fell into the hands of the American Colonial Government. The American authorities commissioned Juan Arellano, who was also the designer of the Manila Central Post Office, to design a new bridge which will be placed one block downriver from the original location of Puente de España.

Jones Bridge suffered the same fate of the Manila Central Post Office. Bombs damaged the bridge during the Second World War.
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Jones Bridge
Jones Bridge

It was said the Jones Bridge was Juan Arellano's masterpiece. It was an arch bridge with ornate designs following the neoclassical style of architecture. The entrance to bridge has pillars with statues at the top.

The entrance to Jones Bridge is now occupied by lion statues.
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The Chinese lion of Jones Bridge

The lion statues of Jones bridge is a pair. One is a male and the other a female. This one, located on the west side of the bridge, is a male lion statue. I know its "sex" because the male organ was present. The same goes for the Chinese lioness statue located on the east side of the bridge.

The remaining part of the bridge is bare. It seems like that the Philippine government didn't have funds to return Jones Bridge to its former glory. That is understandable. The Philippines is still reeling from the destruction brought by the War.
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Pasig River and MacArthur Bridge as viewed from Jones Bridge.
Pasig River and MacArthur Bridge as viewed from Jones Bridge.

I always wonder who this Jones is whenever I pass along this bridge. Sometimes I think that this bridge was named after Tom Jones, who is very popular in the Philippines due to his “Sex Bomb” song.

Alas, I was wrong. Jones Bridge was named after Virginia Rep. William Jones. He was the author of the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916.
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The area of Calle Escolta as viewed from Jones Bridge
The area of Calle Escolta.

Jones Bridge is the best way to reach Binondo Chinatown and Divisoria. Vehicles filled with goods always pass by this bridge. This bridge is also not spared of the traffic, especially during the rush hours.
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Entrance to Binondo as seen from Jones Bridge.
The entrance to Binondo District. Can you see the Filipino - Chinese  Friendship Arch?

Its been a long time since I passed through this bridge. I am missing this place now especially the sunset:
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Stunning Manila sunset as seen from Jones Bridge

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Historical information for this post came from Jones Bridge article in Wikipedia.

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Have you experienced passing through Jones Bridge? Or do you know some historical tidbit about it? Share your experiences and information with us by leaving a comment on the combox below.

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14 comments:

  1. Beautiful! Loved Manila...hope to go there again someday... What are those things floating in the river?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do hope that you visit Manila again. I will be happy to tour you around our city. :-)

      The floating things are water lilies. There are plenty of those plants growing along canals connected to Pasig River.

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  2. kala ko maraming basura sa pasig river. pero parang malinis naman yata. never been to manila, no idea about its history ;-)


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maraming basura sa Pasig River. Hindi pa rin nawawala kasi mga balahura yung mga nakatira sa paligid ng ilog. Timing lang na nakuhanan ko ng picture yung Pasig River na "walang" basura.

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  3. dameng water lilies haha anyways cute ng statue

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  4. You know what? I really wish I can do this also. Wala lang akong lakas ng loob maglabas ng cam eh at laging para akong naglalayas paggaling akong dasma. :) I bet you're missing Binondo now. :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Naks. Mahina pala loob mo eh. Hehe. Ok lang naman na mag-picture ka. Mas kabahan ka kung SLR yung dala mong camera. Mainit sa mata ng mga magnanakaw yun.

      Hindi ko nami-miss ang Binondo. :-P

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  5. eto po ba yung blog mu pang travel?..i have not been on that side of the Philippines, thanks for the info about the history of that bridge...:) following you back po...:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep. You came to the right place. :-) Welcome po. Salamat sa pagbisita.

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  6. ai..mamaya na po ako makaka pag join kasi nasa opis po ako...hihi may restriction ung page access..;) hihi

    ReplyDelete

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