Not many people would realize it, but Rizal Park is one of Manila’s best examples of how much the city has changed in the span of just over a century. 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 … Read more
As many Rizal Park patrons now, which would account to a great majority of Metro Manilans at least, the park offers more than the Rizal Monument. Many of which have become popular spots among longtime patrons of the park.
One of those classic park attractions would the Flower Clock, which has been around since at least the 1960’s. It was recently renovated with the help of a private entity, though some have noted the older version of the Flower Clock looked better than the current one.
Of course, no trip to Rizal Park would be complete without a visit to the main attraction of the park, none other than the Rizal Monument itself. While this monument serves to represent the greatness of the country’s national hero, it is also a symbol of the way things work in the country, of how plans don’t turn out the way they’re supposed to be, for the better or otherwise.
As I mentioned some posts ago, the Americans when they gazed upon what was then Bagumbayan Field already saw it as a potential center of the burgeoning power of the United States in the Philippines. And with Burnham’s vision of a “Manila Beautiful” set on the drawing board at least in 1905, the US colonial government was determined make that dream of Manila’s National Mall into reality. The first order of business is getting what would be Manila’s counterpart Washington monument for this planned Manila National Mall.
It is interesting to note that much the sights of Rizal Park that we see today were opened only from the 1960’s-onwards, by the time the park was placed under the administration of the National Parks Development Committee. (NPDC) Most of these improvements came under the term of the NPDC’s long-time head, journalist Teodoro Valencia.
Thus, in his honor, the rotonda plaza between the National Museum and Tourism buildings known as Agrifina Circle was renamed as the Valencia Circle.