Paseo de Rizal, or the Rizal Boulevard

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

Paseo de Rizal, or the Rizal Boulevard, follows the shoreline of Dumaguete City, and is lined with the beautiful [formerly] private houses — the so-called sugar houses — of local hacenderos and the buildings of Silliman University. When the latter was still Silliman Institute in the early years of the 20th century, it had become a popular school for many students from other places to matriculate in, and people started arriving in droves in Dumaguete, which had no pier.

To land in Dumaguete then, according to historian Caridad Aldecoa-Rodriguez, passengers had to be “carried over the shoulders of some husky cargadores from the boat to the shore to avoid becoming wet. This was a common sight at the beach in those times.” By June 1919, Vicente Flagrante, the local district engineer, had finished the plans for a pier in Dumaguete, and an appropriation for P50,000 was approved, with succeeding appropriations coming until 1935. It was the greatest improvement Dumaguete had ever undertaken at that time. Before the building of the pier, however, the construction of a boulevard running parallel to the seashore of Dumaguete was a stroke of genius for the town planners. It was designed to connect the provincial road with the port, and four principal streets of Dumaguete — now declared first-class roads — were joined with the boulevard by 1916.

The boulevard came at the height of infrastructure construction under the leadership of town mayor Sr. Ramon Pastor [who served from October 1912 to October 1916], which also saw the construction of Quezon Park in September 1916. Pastor as town mayor should be credited for having shaped the Dumaguete as we know and love today. The boulevard was named after Jose Rizal, the national hero, who is said to have spent a few hours along the stretch to stroll before departing for Dapitan for his exile. It currently extends at a length of 967 meters, from the Press Club to the pier, including the extended promenade.

The Dumaguete sign is located at the Rizal Boulevard, Some of the tourist and even the people of so-called “City of Gentle People“ which is Dumaguete City is taking a picture of it. Some of the people are going to Rizal Boulevard because of the famous streetfood stalls setting up and yes It is called the “Tempurahan” in which the people is selling tempura, squid balls and rolls, balut etc. There are also souvenirs sold like key chains and magnets in which you have them personalized through engraving. Across of it there are many restaurants which you can spend your time with friends by chitcahtting or eating for an hour. You can experience all this stuffs by visiting Dumaguete City, So come and visit Dumaguete where fun and enjoyment spreads.

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