Plaza Olivia Salamanca ( fil, Liwasang Olivia Salamanca), also known simply as Plaza Salamanca, is a

public 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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

, bounded by

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 ...

to the east, Teodoro M. Kalaw Avenue to the north and General Luna Street to the west. It is dedicated to

Olivia Salamanca Olivia Salamanca (1 July 1889 – 11 July 1913) was a Filipino physician who trained in the United States at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and was the second female physician from the Philippines. She died from tuber ...

, one of the Philippines' first female physicians, with a

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

dedicated to her being installed in 1955. Unlike other plazas in the City of Manila, Plaza Olivia Salamanca also falls under the jurisdiction of the National Parks Development Committee, the agency responsible for maintaining the neighboring

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 ...

Renovations

The plaza has been renovated two times in recent history. New benches, landscaping and light fixtures were installed in the plaza's first renovation, part of a wider redevelopment of public spaces during the tenure of

Lito Atienza Jose "Lito" Livioko Atienza Jr. (; born August 10, 1941) is a Filipino politician. He served as a Party-list Representative for Buhay from 2013 to 2022, and was a House Deputy Speaker from 2020 to 2022. He served as the Secretary of Environment ...

, including nearby spaces such as Plaza Rueda and the

Remedios Circle Remedios Circle, also known as the Plaza de la Virgen de los Remedios, Remedios Rotonda, and Rotary Circle, is a traffic circle in Malate, Manila in the Philippines, serving as the intersection between Remedios Street, Jorge Bocobo Street and Adri ...

. The renovated plaza was inaugurated on June 24, 2006 as part of celebrations for the city's 435th founding anniversary. Additional plants were planted in 2012, donated to the city by a non-government organization in a ceremony led by Atienza's successor,

Alfredo Lim Alfredo "Fred" Siojo Lim Jr.. (; December 21, 1929 – August 8, 2020) was a Filipino politician and police officer who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2007. He also served as the Mayor of Manila twice: first from 1992 to ...

. In a more comprehensive second renovation, which took place during the tenure of

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

, Lim's successor, new light fixtures were installed. The plaza was once again inaugurated on August 8, 2016. A 2017 academic study found that the plaza had 32 trees planted, equaling a vegetated area of compared to a total area of . As of the term of Mayor

Isko Moreno Francisco Moreno Domagoso (born October 24, 1974), popularly known by his stage name Isko Moreno or Isko Moreno Domagoso (), is a Filipino politician and actor who previously served as the 27th mayor of Manila from 2019 to 2022. Before headi ...

, Plaza Salamanca was one of the plazas in the city being rehabilitated. On January 1, 2022, the Manila City Government led by Moreno and Vice Mayor

Honey Lacuna Maria Sheilah Honrado Lacuna–Pangan (born May 6, 1965), publicly known as Honey Lacuna, is a Filipino physician and politician who is currently serving as the Mayor of Manila since 2022. Early life Lacuna-Pangan was born to Danilo "Danny" La ...

inaugurated the newly-rehabilitated plaza, alongside the lighting of the stretch of

Kalaw Avenue Kalaw Avenue (formerly ''T.M. Kalaw Street'') is a short stretch of road in the Ermita district of Manila, Philippines. It forms the southern boundary of Rizal Park running east–west from San Marcelino Street to Roxas Boulevard near the center of ...

. They dedicated the rehabilitation of the plaza to the works of Dr. Salamanca and all the healthcare workers, while the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

was ongoing.

Use and surrounding structures

Plaza Olivia Salamanca is a freedom park along with Plaza Rueda on the other side of Taft Avenue, where protests and rallies may be held without requiring permission from local authorities. Its location near several government offices makes it a popular staging point for rallies and protests, particularly on Labor Day, and the nearby U.S. Embassy in Manila makes the plaza a popular starting point for anti-American protests led by militant groups. Other groups — not necessarily militant in nature — have also used the plaza to protest, including students, religious groups,

jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public transportation, public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their ...

drivers, women's rights activists, indigenous peoples, the urban poor, and even those opposed to the late President Ferdinand Marcos. An entrance to the southbound platform of United Nations station on Line 1 of the Manila LRT is located beside the plaza. Aside from Rizal Park, other notable buildings and structures surrounding the plaza include the Central United Methodist Church, the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation, the Asia-Pacific headquarters of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

, the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

, Santa Isabel College and the Casino Español de Manila.

References

{{Parks and plazas in Manila

Olivia Olivia may refer to: People * Olivia (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Olivia (singer) (Olivia Longott, born 1981), American singer * Olívia (basketball) (Carlos Henrique Rodrigues do Nascimento, born 19 ...

Buildings and structures in Ermita

Renovations

Use and surrounding structures

See also

References