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Rizal Park: Daniel Burnham

Rizal Park is a 58 hectare urban park located in Manila, Philippines along Roxas Boulevard. The park was designed in 1905 by American architect Daniel Burnham and has over 3,497 trees of 112 species. Burnham modeled the park after the National Mall in Washington D.C., making it the centerpiece of his Manila Plan. It features open lawns, gardens, ponds and monuments honoring Filipino heroes. The park is historically significant as the site of Jose Rizal's execution during the Spanish colonial era.

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842 views1 page

Rizal Park: Daniel Burnham

Rizal Park is a 58 hectare urban park located in Manila, Philippines along Roxas Boulevard. The park was designed in 1905 by American architect Daniel Burnham and has over 3,497 trees of 112 species. Burnham modeled the park after the National Mall in Washington D.C., making it the centerpiece of his Manila Plan. It features open lawns, gardens, ponds and monuments honoring Filipino heroes. The park is historically significant as the site of Jose Rizal's execution during the Spanish colonial era.

Uploaded by

Precious Uminga
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Rizal Park

Type: Urban Park


Architect: Daniel Burnham
Location: Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, Philippines
Area: 58 hectares (140 acres)
Created: 1820
Administered by: National Parks Development Committee
Plants: 3,497 trees (2015)
Species: 112 tree species (2015)

INTRODUCTION
Still widely known as 'Luneta' (its name until it was officially changed in the 1950s),
Manila’s iconic central park is spread out over some 60 hectares of open lawns,
ornamental gardens, ponds, paved walks and wooded areas, dotted with monuments to
a whole pantheon of Filipino heroes. It's an atmospheric place to take a stroll,
particularly late afternoon, early evening and on weekends. As the place where José
Rizal was executed by the Spanish colonial authorities, it's also of great historical
significance.

HISTORY
As the foundations of Spanish rule in the Philippines began to crumble as a result of the
Philippine Revolution, the Americans “defeated” the Spanish forces during the Spanish-
American war in 1898, the result of which was the takeover of the United States over
the country by yearend.

American colonial government invited over the famed American architect/urban planner
named Daniel Burnham in 1905. At that time, Burnham was busy laying out the plans
for Chicago and Washington; in the course of his visit, Burnham was inspired by
Manila’s environment that he appropriated some of his ideas for the Chicago and
Washington plans for his Manila plan.

AMERICAN ARCHITECT/URBAN PLANNER DANIEL BURNHAM


Burnham decided to make the old Bagumbayan Field as the centerpiece, so to speak,
of his Manila Plan, transforming it as Manila’s National Mall like that in Washington DC.
In this case, the Washington Monument would be a planned Rizal Monument with the
National Capitol, AKA the Legislative Building on the opposite side. Surrounding the
planned Capitol building would be a number of government buildings that
will compliment the look of the Capitol.

By the early 1960’s, Rizal Park would find itself playing a new role, as it was designated
as a National Park by then Pres. Diosdado Macapagal. He and his First Lady Eva
Macapagal would be instrumental in reviving the park through the establishment of the
National Parks Development Committee in 1963 which would oversee of the
development of the country’s national parks: Rizal Park being one of them.

Originally, and this was up to the end of the Spanish colonial era, Manila’s bayshore
was only up to what is now the gutter of the northbound lane of Roxas Boulevard.

EXPANSION
Manila’s expansion would begin during the American colonial period as reclamation
work in the 1900’s extended farther Manila’s land area as part of Burnham’s Manila
plan, thus expanding the significance of Luneta. I guess it was appropriate that they
named this expanded part of the park as “New Luneta.”

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