Bridging the Gap
Iznart Street
Iznart Street is a busy commercial and educational center in Iloilo City. It is the longest vein of the heart of downtown Iloilo. Its terminals are the old Iloilo Provincial Capitol in the north and the Iloilo Strait in the south. Many streets intersect this grand business avenue, namely Solis; intersecting streets like Delgado and Yulo, Arroyo and Ledesma, De Leon and Aldeguer; and Rizal.
Iznart Street was named after the alcalde-mayor of Iloilo in the late 1860's, Manuel Iznart (Sonza, 1977). People commonly refer to this street as Iznart but most if not all do not know that the street was already renamed and was even divided into two in 1971. Ordinance Number 6, Series of 1971, entitled “Proposed Ordinances Renaming Certain Streets in the City of Iloilo contains two sections that provide for the renaming of the street, as a move towards the nationalization of names.
Section 3 of the said ordinance states: The city street extending from Plazoleta Gay to the Provincial Capitol, now known as Iznart Street, shall henceforth be known as Don Ruperto Montinola Street.” Section 4 mentions: “The city street extending from Plazoleta Gay to corner Blanco Street, now known as Iznart Street, shall henceforth be known as Dr. Fermin Caram Street.” Thus, Iznart Street supposedly no longer exists, but people still continue to refer to it as such.
Don Ruperto Montinola was a member of the 9th Philippine Legislature from July 16, 1931 to July 15, 1934 of the 7th Senatorial district. He was also a delegate to the Constitutional Convention on July 10, 1934. Dr. Fermin Caram, on the other hand, was a well-known medical doctor in Iloilo City who served as governor of the Iloilo Province during the Japanese occupation and who became mayor of Iloilo City decades later.
Iznart Street, from Plazoleta Gay to the old Provincial Capitol, was once an extension of Calle Real during the late 19th century and early part of the American colonial rule. At the far end of Calle Real was the Casa Real that was the official residence of the Spanish alcalde-mayor. The Casa Real stood on the very spot where the old Capitol Building stands at present.
Iznart Street has maintained itself as being one of the commercial and educational centers in the city proper since the Spanish period up to now. Iits prominent historical landmarks prove that Iznart has played a significant role in the commerce and education of the city and province of Iloilo. There are some prominent institutions and a large number of business establishments ranging from small scale to large scale. Of course, other landmarks along it faded out due to war, conflagration, and as a consequence of “progress,” having been replaced by new ones.
Some of the prominent landmarks found along Iznart Street are the Arroyo Fountain, YMCA Building, Cabalum Western Colleges, Amigo Terrace Hotel, three defunct movie houses – Cinema, Alegro 1 and Alegro 2, Iloilo Central Commercial High School, Plazoleta Gay, Grand Hotel, Iloilo Central Market, University of Iloilo, the Maria Clara Monument, more than a dozen banks, popular fast food chains, bakeries, grocery stores, hardware stores, drugstores, and other commercial establishments.