Magallanes Street is apparently the oldest street in the Philippines.
“Colon Street is the oldest street in the Philippines.”
One of the biggest discoveries in Cebu history might turn out to be false.
On the Facebook Page “MEMORIES OF OLD CEBU”, famed Cebuano historian Dr. Jobers Bersales completely debunked this centuries-old belief. (2025)
In a three-page article published in a real estate magazine, Dr. Bersales claimed that Colon Street in downtown Cebu is not the oldest street in the Philippines despite the nation’s historical commission officially calling it such twice already.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (formerly the National Historical Institute) installed two historical markers on the Colon Obelisk in 1961 and 1999, claiming it as the first street to be built by the Spaniards in Cebu in 1565.
However, Dr. Bersales challenged these claims because of its distance from Cebu’s commercial port and for it being named after an explorer, Christopher Columbus, who never stepped foot in the country.
There is a long history as to how this myth came to fruition, dating to a time before the American occupation in the Philippines.
DEVELOPED ON POSTCARDS
Dr. Bersales mentioned in his article that Colon was the only area in the city properly lined with Spanish-era stone houses when the Americans arrived in Cebu in 1899.
There were plenty of houses in other areas around the city, particularly near the commercial port that is also close to present-day Magallanes Street and the Carbon Market.
However, these were mostly destroyed during the Battle of Tres de Abril in 1898, leaving the city to rebuild during the start of the 20th century.
The port area was renovated with American architecture, particularly two-storey buildings made with wood and iron, ushering in a more modern look for the city.
During this time in 1910, a shop called American Bazar planned to create a postcard depicting “old Cebu”. Because Colon was the only area maintaining its wood and stone houses, it was used as the postcard’s subject.
The image was taken by American soldier Dean Curran Tatom and features Colon Street as seen from Parian district. It shows a quiet street surrounded by brick-lain houses, with a text reading “The Oldest Street in Cebu” on top.
A few years later, a Cebuano-based photo studio called L.G. Joseph printed their own postcards of the same street, this time with the text “Oldest Street in the Philippines”.
Around 15 years later, the American Express Company added this information to their first ever guidebook of the Philippines in 1933.
THE CLAIM
Dr. Bersales claimed that Colon was not even part of the earliest city or “ciudad” during the Spanish colonization, as seen from the oldest known map of Cebu City in 1699.
The city was bordered by the Estero de Parian, which is located between present-day Colon and Manalili, showing that the famed street was outside of its borders.
Subsequently, the ciudad was reportedly formulated from a fort and villa built in 1565 near the commercial trading port, in the same area that was rebuilt with a more modern, American look.
Thus, Dr. Bersales claims the oldest street in the Philippines is the street closest to the port area. One that is named after Ferdinand Magellan: Magallanes Street.
MAGALLANES STREET AS THE OLDEST STREET IN THE PHILIPPINES
One of the biggest confirmations that Magallanes Street is in fact the oldest street is the Laws of the Indies.
The earliest government of Cebu led by Miguel López de Legazpi was bound to build streets surrounding a public square or plaza. The square must have a church on one side, and the seat of authority right across from it.
One side would be a business district, while the other a residential area for the Spaniards.
This setup is the exact design we see now at the Plaza Sugbo, which houses several of the oldest historical sites in Cebu as the location of the first baptism on the island.
The plaza houses the Basilica del Sto. Niño on one side and the Cebu City Hall on the other. Several businesses also surround it, while the Parian district where the Spanish mestizos resided is pretty close by.
As you can see, Magallanes Street is one of the main pathways to get to Plaza Sugbo.
*****
It’s surprising how historians could have made a mistake in determining the oldest street in the Philippines. This shows how blurry our histories can be without a thorough discussion of how things have changed over the years.
Magallanes Street definitely plays an important part of Cebu’s history as an access point to the seat of governance and its main public square. It may seem like an ordinary street we pass through, but there is evidently much more behind it.
REFERENCES:
Bersales, Jobers Reynes. 2025. “Why Colon is Not the Oldest Street in the Philippines.” Memories of Cebu Facebook Page.
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