CALLE ROSARIO, BINONDO EARLY 1900s

Calle Rosario was named after the district’s patron saint Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Binondo church was built in 1614 and was dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Most chinese families and merchants moved to Binondo when the old Parian near Intramuros was demolished in 1860 by the Spanish government for fear of chinese uprising and eventual control of the economy. Calle Rosario became the business hub of these displaced chinese businessmen during the late Spanish regime and the early days of the American colonial era.

Just like Escolta and the Puente de España, the street of Calle Rosario was paved with wooden blocks called Australian blue gum which had been imported for paving purposes. It was later replaced by native Philippine wood Molave while MERALCO used Ipil and Yakal to strenghten the foundation of its railways for its tranvia during the American period.

In the prewar years, Calle Rosario housed some wholesale emporia, banks, first-classs eateries and offices of prominent lawyers, doctors and accountants. It also rivalled Escolta as a shopping center being a haven of imported goods and quality textiles. Manila's first class hotel at that time called Hotel de Oriente once stood near Calle Rosario where our national hero Jose Rizal once stayed.

Today it is where the Filipino Chinese Friendship Arch stands and where the oldest Chinatown in the world is known. It is now called Quintin Paredes street after a brilliant lawyer and Philippine senator of the 1950s.