Session Road is a six-lane major road in

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Philippines. The entire road forms part of the National Route 231 (N231) of the

Philippine highway network The Philippine highway network is a network of national roads owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and organized into three classifications according to their function or purpose: national primary, seconda ...

Route description

Session Road is the main thoroughfare of

in the

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 ...

and is the main hub of what is called the Baguio Central Business District.

Lower Session Road

The Lower Session Road extends eastward from Magsaysay Avenue (opposite the Plaza or kilometer zero and Malcolm Square) running through the BCBD until the intersections of Father Carlu Street (towards the

Baguio Cathedral Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral, better known as Baguio Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at Cathedral Loop adjacent to Session Road in Baguio, the Philippines, and is the see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baguio. Dedicat ...

and Upper Bonifacio Street) and Governor Pack Road. This is the area where businesses are located, among others banks, shops, restaurants, bakeries, hotels, newsstands, boutiques, and studios.

Upper Session Road

The Upper Session Road extends from Post Office Loop, Leonard Wood Road, and the foot of Luneta Hill (where SM City Baguio is located) to the rotunda cutting toward South Drive (towards Baguio Country Club), Loakan Road (towards

Camp John Hay Camp John Hay is a mixed-used development which serves as a tourist destination and forest watershed reservation in Baguio, Philippines which was formerly a military base of the United States Armed Forces. History The United States 48th Infa ...

, Loakan Airport,

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( fil, Akademiyang Militar ng Pilipinas / es, Academia Militar de Filipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of ...

, Baguio City Economic Zone, and the mine areas of

Itogon, Benguet Itogon, officially the Municipality of Itogon, ( ilo, Ili ti Itogon; tl, Bayan ng Itogon), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

), and Military Cut-Off (towards Kennon Road).

History

Session Road derives its name from the fact that it used to lead up to the old Baden-Powell Hall, where the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Preside ...

held its sessions from April 22 to June 11, 1904 and officially initiated the use of Baguio as the Philippine Summer Capital. The Commission was composed of Governor General

Luke E. Wright Luke Edward Wright (August 29, 1846 – November 17, 1922) was a United States political figure. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1904 to 1905 and also as Secretary of War from 1908 to 1909. Biography Luke Edward Wright was ...

, president, and Commissioners Henry Ide,

Dean Conant Worcester Dean Conant Worcester, D.Sc., FRGS (October 1, 1866 – May 2, 1924) was an American zoologist, public official, and authority on the Philippines. He was born at Thetford, Vermont, and educated at the University of Michigan (A.B., 1889). He first ...

Trinidad Pardo de Tavera Trinidad Hermenegildo José María Juan Francisco Pardo de Tavera y Gorricho (13 April 1857 – 26 March 1925) was a Filipino physician, historian and politician of Spanish and Portuguese descent who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Phil ...

Benito Legarda Benito Cosme Legarda y Tuason (September 27, 1853 – August 27, 1915) was a Filipino legislator who was a member of the Philippine Commission of the American colonial Insular Government, the government's legislature, and later a Resident Comm ...

, Jose de Luzuriaga,

James Francis Smith James Francis Smith (January 28, 1859 – June 29, 1928) was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Governor-General of the Philippines and an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs Appeals. Education and c ...

and

William Cameron Forbes William Cameron Forbes (May 21, 1870 – December 24, 1959) was an American investment banker and diplomat. He served as Governor-General of the Philippines, governor-general of the Philippines from 1909 to 1913 and ambassador of the United States ...

. A marker by what is now Baden-Powell Inn, right beside the enormous bus terminals on

Governor Pack Road The Governor Pack Road is a major highway in Baguio, Philippines, named for the American William F. Pack, who was appointed Military Governor of Benguet on November 15, 1901, and served as the civilian Governor of Mountain Province from 1909 to 19 ...

, stand as the only visible evidence that anything of historical significance ever took place on Session Road. The road was also part of Highway 11 or Route 11 that served the Cordillera Range.

Intersections

In popular culture

A local Philippine band called sessiOnroad based their name on the famous thoroughfare.

References

External links

{{Major roads in Benguet Baguio Roads in Benguet Shopping districts and streets in the Philippines