España Boulevard is an 8–lane major thoroughfare in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, named after the Spanish name of Spain, the country's colonial power for than 300 years. True to its name, several Spanish names abound the street. It starts at the Welcome Rotonda at the boundary of Quezon City and Manila and ends with a Y-intersection with Lerma and Nicanor Reyes Street in Manila.
History
Before becoming what it is today, the boulevard was a part of the Hacienda de Sulucan, one of the ten barrios which formed Sampaloc. In 1694, the hacienda was donated to the sisters of the Monasterio de Santa Clara. In 1905, it was turned over to the Sulucan Development Corporation. The road was constructed in 1913 as an access road to Sulucan, under the condition that it be named "España".
Notable landmarks
España is an east-west artery of Manila. It connects Lerma and Nicanor Reyes streets of Sampaloc district at the west end to the Mabuhay Rotonda, Quezon City at the east end. The entire street is straddled by a center island, which is only broken at major intersections and at the railroad crossing. Vehicles are allowed to make a left-turn only on two intersections: southward to Lacson Avenue and at the western terminus going to Nicanor Reyes Street. España is two kilometers long. España's north side is its west-bound side, while the south side is its east-bound side. Buses, taxis, jeepneys and cabriolets serve the commuters.
Quezon City
At the eastern terminus is the Welcome Rotonda, also called the Mabuhay Rotonda, which connects España with Quezon Avenue, Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue, and Mayon Avenue. Quezon Avenue leads to EDSA and ultimately to the Quezon Memorial Circle. E. Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue leads to Cubao district of Quezon City, a popular shopping place. Mayon Avenue leads to A. Bonifacio Avenue then North Luzon Expressway.
España is infamous for its floods during the rainy season. This is because it serves as a catch basin for runoff water from higher elevated Quezon City, as Sampaloc used to be a swamp-marsh area. It is common to find people wading in waist-deep floods especially when a typhoon passes through Manila, causing suspension of classes. Fernando Poe, Jr.'s funeral procession passed through España on its way to Manila North Cemetery from Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City. As many 3 million people took part in the procession. A new mass-transit line has been planned several times to cross España, the first one being called as MRT-4, also called by some as the Red Line. The said MRT line will traverse the Boulevard until it reaches San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan which has been shelved in favor of MRT-7 line that diverted and cut short the terminus at North Avenue. After the MRT-7 proposal was awarded, the plans were revived to create a separate line for the remainder of the alignment from the original MRT-4 proposal that the MRT-7 left out which was named MRT-9 that was envisioned to traverse from Lerma to North Avenue. Subsequently this was again shelved in favor of a BRT line that traverses from Lerma to UP Diliman but was again shelved now in favor of an unsolicited proposal put up by PNR and Alloy MTD using the same remaining MRT-4 and BRT alignment with the working project name "PNR East-West Rail" and is believed to be officially numbered Line 8, should the proposal push through. The boulevard will also provide access to the under-construction NLEX–SLEX Connector Road via España Exit. The said extension will traverse over C-2 Road until it meets the NLEX Harbor Link in Caloocan. The house of the longest serving Mayor of Manila, Ramon Bagatsing, is in Kundiman Street, on the boulevard's north side. Many people used to flock to his residence as it was open to all his constituents, becoming the de factopublic service assistance center for Manila's poor and underprivileged. Today, the Bagatsing compound extends all the way to the parallel street of Craig. España is also frequently used by anti-government protesters as a gathering area due to its proximity to Mendiola, which ends at Malacañan Palace, the presidential residence.
