🔒 Closed Quezon bridge

[Jmrie_]

ANG CONTROVERSIAL NA QUEZON BRIDGE na kilala din (QUIAPO BRIDGE)

Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the famous French architect who designed Paris’ popular landmark, was also the mind behind Quezon Bridge.

Prior to World War II, Eiffel was hired by the Philippine government to convert the Quezon Bridge into a modern steel structure that it is today. At that time, the bridge was known as Puente Colgante, a suspension bridge that allowed horse-drawn carriages to cross the Pasig River.

Built-in 1852, Puente Colgante was the first suspension bridge ever constructed in Southeast Asia. It was originally called Puente de Claveria and was designed by engineer Matias Mechacatorre. In the 19th century, both pedestrians and carriages were required to pay a toll fee before crossing the bridge. For pedestrians, the fee usually amounted to one kusing or half centavo.

For carriages, on the other hand, the toll fee depended on how many wheels were used at that time.

To convert Puente Colgante into a steel bridge, the Philippines had to purchase imported materials from England. Its name was then changed into Quezon Bridge after Manuel Quezon who was the country’s president at that time. Today, the bridge still holds the same name and is found in Quezon Boulevard along Quiapo.

During his heyday, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel became world-renowned after he designed Eiffel Tower for the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris, France.

1. San Sebastian Church, Manila, Philippines, at San Sebastian Church
2. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel - a French civil Engineer and Architect
3. Eiffel Tower in Paris at Eiffel Tower (Paris, Tennessee), Paris, France
4. Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila at Quezon Bridge, Quezon Bridge

Historians dispute local traditions that the San Sebastian Church and Quezon Bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (This is also asserted about the Puente de Ayala.) They note the original bridge has been documented as designed by a Basque. (In addition, the 1930s work was performed a decade after Eiffel died in 1923.)