Colon Street was built by the conquering kastilas lead by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. Considered the oldest street in the entire country, Colon Street was built in 1565 – more than 40 years after Magellan’s defeat in Mactan.
Colon Street is a very important part of Cebuano life, culture, and history. It is also an important force which pushed our small but thriving country towards progress and the modern age. The street has witnessed not only Cebu’s victories and defeats but also the country’s struggles in its quest for freedom, recognition, and acceptance.
At present, people have succeeded in trivializing the value of Colon Street by associating it with fear and annoyance. When people talk of Colon, the words ‘pickpocket,’ ‘criminal,’ and ‘beware’ almost always come up. In fact, some people even believe that Colon has become synonymous to its dirty sidestreets and dilapidated buildings.
Luckily, the city government has great big plans for downtown Cebu, specifically Colon Street. A massive rehabilitation program will soon be commenced (hopefully very very soon) to reestablish and revitalize the priceless treasure that only the island of Cebu can ever claim.
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An age-old sketch of Colon Street
The Colon Street marker in Parian.
View of the obelisk from the side.
Age-old sketch of the oldest street in the country.
Daang Colon (Colon Street)
Marker of the location of a studio owned by Italian expatriate named Dante Guidetti.
The marker and the location of the studio.
Colon Street today.
Colon Street and Gaisano Main.
From another angle.
i miss colon jud kaha… inig human sa class…. suroy dayon sa mga malls…hehehehe hopefully matinood na ley og ila pang panindoton og maayo….
wow, daghan korente…..
I can not remember this obelisk. It’s really high time to pay a visit. But I truly remember the ‘spaghetti’ electrical wires down there. Hoping this will be considered during the facelift of Colon. Thanks for the post Ley.
when i visited cebu a couple of years ago, sa colon daw makaka pickup ng mga prosti. 😀
Panahon na ug angay gyod nga lab-ason ang kahusay ug garbo sa karaang dalan Colon. Kaniadto kon mosubay ka sa daplin, dili gyud ka mahasol sa mga manindahay nga nagbabag sa agi-anan. Hapsay ug hayon kaayo ilakaw gikan sa unang Cebu City Hospital sa may dalan Mabini hangtod sa eskina sa Jones (karon Osmena Blvd).
Colon street is like the busiest street. But I still wished they were able to preserve anything from the original. Right now, it’s just highly urbanized.
Finally it will get a facelift. I’ll be waiting for the change. 🙂
Ang tagal ko nang di nakakapunta ng Cebu. Ang dami na palang nagbago. 🙂
I too wish they will “restore” Colon. It used to be the happening place in the 60’s to maybe the 80’s (my heydays-LOL- I am aging myself). Everyone converge in Colon to shop, eat or watch movies since the sinehans were all concentrated there. I wish they had the marker in Cebuano instead of Tagalog since it is found in Cebu, in your pic “Daang Colon”.
Ley, thank you for the update since I was always wondering what happened to that street. Sadly when I visit, I don’t even come to see this street since everything is all “uptown” now.
Abangan nalang natin.
Thanx Ley.
sus diha jud sa colon gkuot akong pitaka nga P2.00 ra ang sulod, dili jud ko makalimot ato, kato pajud to P2 na papel karaan na kaayo
it is really frustrating to note the sad and lamentable predicament our colon st. is at the hands of ‘these’ pipol. hope the city gov’t will do some wonders in due time. .looy akong birth spot, unsaon man napabayaan. . when i toured my son to this area during our visit to cebu, i told him to whisper to me when he wants to say something, hadlok ko sa among safety- he don’t know mo speak cebuano .
Ley nganong tagalog man nang ilang sign uy! Wala na sila malipong.
Great photos Ley!
Hmm, I used to work somewhere around where you’ve taken the photo of Colon. It used to be a popular restaurant “Snow Sheen Restaurant”. NOt sure if it’s still around. But then this was back in the 80s 🙂 Thanks Ley for taking the time to do this.
Had a very surreal experience today…
I was walking by myself today on Colon Street (the oldest street in the Philippines) and it was quite busy. There was a confusing, hectic but well-orchestrated chaos happening all around me.
It was the same street I’ve taken like a million times when I was younger but I was still very captivated by it. There were old stores coupled by new ones, fellow Cebuanos all around going about their business…
It may be the last thing on locals’ mind when it comes to places to visit in Cebu but for some odd reason, I felt so comfortable there. It is & always will be one of my favorite places to hang out.
There were a few occasions when I just stopped & watched life pass me by.
For once, in a very long time, I wasn’t rushing to be somewhere, I wasn’t chasing after life and it felt really good… Especially when you’re starting to adapt to the American lifestyle.
It reminded me of how thankful I am for being Filipino, for being Cebuano. I felt so humbled & grateful of the things that God gave to me…