City Beautiful movement Cavite Boulevard was part of Architect
Daniel Burnham's plan to beautify the city of Manila. At the request of Commissioner
William Cameron Forbes, Burnham visited the country in 1905 at the height of the
City Beautiful movement, a trend in the early 1900s in America to make cities beautiful along scientific lines, for the future urban development of Manila and
Baguio.
Original concept According to Burnham's original concept of the Cavite Boulevard, the bayfront from the Luneta southward should be a continuous parkway, extending with time to the
Cavite Navy Yard about away. This boulevard, about in width, with
roadways,
tramways,
bridle paths, rich
plantations, and broad
sidewalks, should be available for all classes of people in all sorts of conveyances, and so well-shaded with
coconut palms,
bamboo, and
mangoes as to furnish protection from the elements at all times. "In order to make the boulevard presentable and useful as soon as possible, a quick-growing tree like the
acacia might be planted, alternating with the trees of slower growth, and be replaced after the latter attain their growth. The boulevard's seaward side should be planted so as to interrupt occasionally the view of the sea and, by thus adding somewhat of mystery, enhance the value of the stretch of ocean and sky. The boulevard would be on
reclaimed land to about as far south as the old
Fort San Antonio Abad in
Malate, beyond which it strikes the beach and follows the shoreline to Cavite. The possible extension of the ocean boulevard along the north shore would naturally depend upon the development of the town in that direction and upon the question of additional harbor works north of the
Pasig River." During the
1945 Battle of Manila, however, the Japanese forces cut down palm trees along the boulevard to convert it into an improvised runway.
Contemporary history During the 1970s, a longstanding debate emerged over the appropriate location for the headquarters of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos proposed situating the headquarters along Roxas Boulevard in Manila, while Indonesian President
Suharto advocated for its placement on
Jalan Sisingamangaraja in
Jakarta. Consensus at the first was eventually reached in favour of Indonesia as the host country for the
ASEAN headquarters. In 1992, flyovers crossing intersecting roads along the boulevard, such as the Roxas Boulevard–Gil Puyat Flyover and Roxas Boulevard–EDSA Flyover, were opened. On May 13, 2024,
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuña signed Ordinance No. 9047 to make Roxas the boulevard's starting point (
Padre Burgos Avenue/Katigbak Parkway) to
Quirino Avenue section
car-free every early Sunday morning starting May 26, 2024. ==Route description==