Pedro Gil Street
Pedro Gil Street is an east-west inner city street and a tertiary national road in south-central Manila, Philippines. It is long and spans the entire length of Ermita, Malate, Paco, and Santa Ana. The street is served by the Pedro Gil LRT Station along Taft Avenue and the Paco railway station along Quirino Avenue. It also continues towards the central Metro Manila cities of Mandaluyong and San Juan across the Pasig River as New Panaderos and General Kalentong Streets.
The street was named after Pedro Gil, a Filipino diplomat and legislator from Manila who first gained popularity in the area as a physician. It was previously known as Herran Street, after José Rafael de la Herrán y Lacoste, a Spanish captain during the Battle of Manila Bay.
Route description
From the east, Pedro Gil Street originates at the intersection with Calderon and New Panaderos Streets, fronting the Santa Ana Church in Santa Ana district, where it is divided by a median of greenery and sculptures known as Plaza Felipe Calderon. Heading west, it passes by the Santa Ana Market before it narrows into a four-lane undivided road west of Medel Street. Continuing past old heritage houses and a few commercial establishments, Pedro Gil crosses into the northern portion of San Andres and Paco districts, where it is interrupted by the Paco railway station and Quirino Avenue. The downtown portion of Paco, Ermita, and Malate lie across this intersection, passing by the Paco Church, Robinsons Manila shopping mall, and universities such as the University of the Philippines Manila and St. Paul University Manila. The Ermita-Malate portion, where the street serves as a boundary, also contains several hotels like the New World Manila Bay Hotel. Roxas Boulevard lies at its western end.The street is mostly a two-way road as its sections between Quirino Avenue and Peñafrancia Street and between Agoncillo Street and Roxas Boulevard are one-way eastbound.
History
The origin of Pedro Gil Street could be traced back to an old road that connected the then-towns of Paco and Santa Ana, based on early 19th century maps. In the 19th century, it was extended to the west towards Calle Real near Manila Bay, effectively connecting both towns with the old national road.The road in Malate, Ermita, and Paco was called Calzada de Paco or Calzada de Malate á Paco. Later, it was named Calle Herran. Through Paco, it was known as Calle Real and past Estero Beata, it was known as Calle Dulumbayan. The name Calle Real also applied to the east up to Santa Ana. Its section leading to Santa Ana was historically known as Carretera de Sta. Ana. Its present-day section, divided by Plaza Felipe Calderon in Santa Ana, was known as Calle Sta. Maria. The street was later extended to the west towards present-day Roxas Boulevard. Its section from General Luna eastwards was also one of the right-of-way alignments of tranvía that existed until 1945.
Its section between General Luna and Tejeron also formed part of Highway 21, which linked Manila to Calamba, Laguna, by circumscribing Laguna de Bay through the province of Rizal.
Herran Street was renamed Pedro Gil Street after the death of its namesake, Pedro Gil, in 1965.