The Liwasang Bonifacio (''Bonifacio Square''), also known by its former name, Plaza Lawton, is a

city square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

and transport hub in front of the

Manila Central Post Office The Manila Central Post Office, often called the Post Office Building, is the main postal office of Manila, which also serves as the home of the Philippine Postal Corporation. It also houses the main mail sorting-distribution operations of the Phi ...

in the

Ermita Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city ...

district of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It lies at the south end of

Jones Bridge The William A. Jones Memorial Bridge, commonly known as the Jones Bridge, is an arched girder bridge that spans the Pasig River in the City of Manila, Philippines. It is named after the United States legislator William Atkinson Jones, who served ...

, MacArthur Bridge, and

Quezon Bridge Quezon Bridge is a combined arch and prestressed concrete girder bridge crossing the Pasig River between Quezon Boulevard in Quiapo and Padre Burgos Avenue in Ermita in Manila, Philippines. Quezon Bridge was built to take the much greater and ...

that link the northern districts of Binondo, Santa Cruz, and Quiapo to the central district of Ermita. The plaza straddles the dividing line between Ermita and

Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day ...

and is the starting point of

Padre Burgos Avenue Padre Burgos Avenue, also known as Padre Burgos Street, is a 14-lane thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The road was named after Jose Burgos, one of the martyred priests who were executed at the nearby Bagumbayan Field (present-day Riz ...

which connects to

Taft Avenue Taft Avenue ( fil, Abenida Taft; es, Avenida Taft) is a major road in the south of Metro Manila. It passes through three cities in the metropolis: Manila, Pasay and Parañaque. The road was named after the former Governor-General of the Philippin ...

and

Roxas Boulevard Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a tradema ...

Rizal Park Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an are ...

. Historically known as the Plaza del Fortín, the plaza was given its current name in 1963 after the revolutionary leader

Andres Bonifacio Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

who founded the independence movement of

Katipunan The Katipunan, officially known as the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan or Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK; en, Supreme and Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation ...

during the Spanish colonial rule. A monument in his honour now stands in the center of the plaza. The plaza is a popular site of protests and demonstrations organized by several leftist groups, being one of four

freedom park In the Philippines, a freedom park is a centrally located public space where political gatherings, rallies and demonstrations may be held without the need of prior permission from government authorities. Similar to free speech zones in the United S ...

s in the City of Manila, where protests and rallies may be held without requiring permission from local authorities.

History

During the Spanish colonial times, the land that is now Liwasang Bonifacio and the Manila Central Post Office was the ''Cuartel del Fortín'', a small fortress guarding the

Pasig River The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its ...

east of

Fort Santiago Fort Santiago ( es, Fuerte de Santiago; fil, Kutà ng Santiago), built in 1571, is a citadel built by Spanish navigator and governor Miguel López de Legazpi for the newly established city of Manila in the Philippines. The defense fortress is lo ...

. It was located in the early Chinese trading village of

Parián Pariáns were districts of cities in the Philippines during the country's Spanish colonial era where Chinese (Sangley) were required to live by Spanish colonial authorities. In Luzon there are several towns and cities with districts for chinese ...

right outside the walls of Intramuros before it moved north of the

to Binondo and Santa Cruz in the late 18th century. El Fortín served as the quarters of a contingent of the Spanish infantry regiment where it is fronted by a small plaza surrounded by stone benches and trees. The ''Plaza del Fortín'' also doubled as a public recreation area at night where early residents would gather to hear musical performances. By the late 19th century, the fortress was acquired by the

Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas The , S.A. (''General Tobacco Company of the Philippines'', abbreviated CdF), also known as the , was a Spanish multinational joint-stock company, one of the world's most important enterprises in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the P ...

and was converted into a factory called the ''Fabrica del Fortín''. It was the largest tobacco factory in the Philippines at the time which employed more than 5,000 laborers. After the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, the factory became the head office of the Bureau of Post and was eventually replaced by the

building. The Manila

tranvía The tranvía was a streetcar system that served Manila and its surrounding cities during the early years of the 20th century. History Prior to the tranvia, modes of street transportation in Manila are mostly horse-drawn, consisting of the ''c ...

had a terminal in the plaza which was then renamed Plaza Lawton after

Henry Ware Lawton Henry Ware Lawton (March 17, 1843 – December 19, 1899) was a U.S. Army officer who served with distinction in the Civil War, the Apache Wars, and the Spanish–American War. He was the only U.S. general officer to be killed during the Philippi ...

, the American general killed during the Philippine–American War. A statue of Andres Bonifacio was erected here in 1963 designed by national artist

Guillermo Tolentino Guillermo Estrella Tolentino (July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976) was a Filipino sculptor and professor of the University of the Philippines. He was designated as a National Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture in 1973, three years before his de ...

to commemorate his birth centennial. It was also in 1963 when Plaza Lawton was renamed Liwasang Bonifacio in his memory.

References

{{Parks and plazas in Manila Plazas in Manila Buildings and structures in Ermita Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines