North of Letran is the PUERTA DE ISABEL II.
This gate was opened in 1861 and was the last to be built in Intramuros
during the Spanish period. It was a solution to the heavy pedestrian
traffic outside Parian gate going towards the Puente de Espaņa ( Bridge of Spain ) and Binondo. Puerta Isabel II opens to Magallanes Drive on which stands the statue ISABEL II.
The PUERTA ISABEL CHAMBERS were part of the riverside curtain wall that
extended from the Baluarte de San Gabriel to Baluarte de Santo Domingo
.
This section was designed and
renovated by Chief Engineer Francisco Sabatini in 1796 to take a double
tier of cannons. The chambers were built in 1837 for medical quarters
and storehouses.
American engineers
demolished sections of the walls in 1903 for street access to the
Walled City and the river wharves. The artillery shelling during the
Battle of Manila contributed further to its destruction. Only 15
chambers remained intact after the war.
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