España Boulevard

España Boulevard during its usual afternoon rush hour traffic.

Aerial view near The University Belt

Before becoming what it is today, the boulevard was a part of the Hacienda de Sulucan, one of the ten barrios which formed Sampaloc. In 1694, the hacienda was donated to the sisters of the Monasterio de Santa Clara. In 1905, it was turned over to the Sulucan Development Corporation. The road was constructed in 1913 as an access road to Sulucan, under the condition that it be named "España".[1]

España Boulevard near University of Santo Tomas

The Welcome Rotonda, also called the Mabuhay Rotonda

España is an east–west artery of Manila. It connects Lerma and Nicanor Reyes (formerly Morayta) streets of Sampaloc district at the west end to the Mabuhay (or Welcome) Rotonda, Quezon City at the east end. The entire street is straddled by a center island, which is only broken at major intersections and at the railroad crossing. Vehicles are allowed to make a left-turn only on two intersections: southward to Lacson Avenue and at the western terminus going to Nicanor Reyes Street. España is two kilometers long.

España's north side is its west-bound (Manila-bound) side, while the south side is its east-bound (Quezon City-bound) side. Buses, taxis, jeepneys, cabriolets, and UV Express vehicles serve the commuters.

España is infamous for its floods during the rainy season. This is because it serves as a catch basin for runoff water from higher elevated Quezon City, as Sampaloc used to be a swamp-marsh area. It is common to find people wading in waist-deep floods especially when a typhoon passes through Manila, causing suspension of classes.[2]

Fernando Poe, Jr.'s funeral procession passed through España on its way to Manila North Cemetery from Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City. As many 3 million people took part in the procession.[3]

A new mass-transit line has been planned several times to cross España, the first one being called as MRT-4, also called by some as the Red Line.[4] The said MRT line will traverse the Boulevard until it reaches San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan which has been shelved in favor of MRT-7 line that diverted and cut short the terminus at North Avenue. After the MRT-7 proposal was awarded, the plans were revived to create a separate line for the remainder of the alignment from the original MRT-4 proposal that the MRT-7 left out which was named MRT-9 that was envisioned to traverse from Lerma to North Avenue. Subsequently, this was again shelved in favor of a BRT line that traverses from Lerma to UP Diliman but was again shelved now in favor of an unsolicited proposal put up by PNR and Alloy MTD using the same remaining MRT-4 and BRT alignment with the working project name "PNR East-West Rail" and is believed to be officially numbered Line 8, should the proposal push through.

The boulevard will also provide access to the under-construction North Luzon Expressway#NLEX Connector (NLEX–SLEX Connector Road) via España Exit.[5] The said extension will traverse over the Philippine National Railway (PNR) tracks from NLEX Harbor Link in Caloocan up to Skyway in Manila.

The house of the longest serving Mayor of Manila, Ramon Bagatsing, is in Kundiman Street, on the boulevard's north side. Many people used to flock to his residence as it was open to all his constituents, becoming the de facto public service assistance center for Manila's poor and underprivileged. Today, the Bagatsing compound extends all the way to the parallel street of Craig.

España is also frequently used by anti-government protesters as a gathering area due to its proximity to Mendiola, which ends at Malacañan Palace, the presidential residence.[6]

Intersections are numbered by kilometer post, with Rizal Park in Manila designated as kilometer zero. 

Province	City/Municipality	km[7]	mi	Destinations	Notes
Quezon City				N170 (Quezon Avenue), Mayon Avenue, E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Nicanor Ramirez Street	Welcome Rotonda. Goes to Quezon Memorial Circle via Quezon Avenue, New Manila & Cubao districts via E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, La Loma & Sta. Mesa Heights districts via Mayon Avenue.
Manila				Macaraig Street	Westbound only.
				Josefina Street
				N161 (Blumentritt Road)	Traffic light intersection. Access to A. Bonifacio Avenue.
				Sisa Street
				Instruccion Street
				Basilio Street
				Maceda (Washington) Street	Traffic light intersection.
				Metrica Street
				Craig Street
				Kundiman Street
				Eduardo Quintos Sr. Street
				San Diego Street
				Antipolo Street	Railroad crossing - PNR España Station.
				Algeciras Street	Railroad crossing - PNR España Station.
				Prudencio Street
				Ruperto Cristobal Sr. (Constancia) Street
				Miguelin Street
				Vicente G. Cruz (Economia) Street	Traffic light intersection. One-way road.
				J. Marzan Street
				Manuel Dela Fuente (Trabajo) Street	Traffic light intersection. One-way road.
				Maria Cristina Street
				Don Quijote Street
				Carola Street	Eastbound only.
				Dos Castillas Street
				Earnshaw (Bustillos) Street	Eastbound only. Access to San Miguel district via Legarda Street.
				N140 (Arsenio H. Lacson Avenue)	Traffic light intersection. Access to SM San Lazaro (northbound) and SLEX via Nagtahan Bridge, Legarda station via Earnshaw Street (southbound).
				Valencia Street	Eastbound only.
				Extremadura Street	Eastbound only.
				Cayco Street	Eastbound only.
		4	2.5	Quezon Drive	Westbound only. University of Santo Tomas internal road.
				Mariano Fortunato Jhocson Street	Eastbound only.
				Osmeña Drive	Westbound only. University of Santo Tomas internal road.
				Centro Street	Eastbound only.
				Moret Street	Eastbound only.
				Galicia Street	Eastbound only.
				Padre Noval Street	Traffic light intersection.
				Eloisa Street	Westbound only.
				Tolentino Street
				Adelina Street	Westbound only.
				Padre Campa Street
				Paquita Street	Westbound only.
				N170 (Lerma Street), Nicanor Reyes (Morayta) Street	Terminus. Access to Quiapo district via Quezon Boulevard; Recto Avenue & Divisoria via Nicanor Reyes Street.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened