{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{short description|Street in Cebu City, Philippines}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Colon Street
| marker_image = File:Colon Street sign v2.png|250px
| native_name = {{native name|ceb|Dalan Colon}}
| image = Colon Street-Osmeña Boulevard intersection close-up (Cebu City; 09-05-2022).jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_map =
| caption =
| namesake = Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus)
| type =
| length_km = 1.17
| length_notes = (based on Google Maps)
| location = Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
| direction_a = East
| terminus_a = P. Burgos Street
| direction_b = West
| terminus_b = C. Padilla Street
| junction = {{ubl|D. Jakosalem Street|Junquera Street|Pelaez Street|Legaspi Street|Osmeña Boulevard|P. Lopez Street|A. Borromeo Street|Leon Kilat Street|J. Climaco Street|Panganiban Street}}
}}
{{short description|Street in Cebu City, Philippines}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Colon Street
| marker_image = File:Colon Street sign v2.png|250px
| native_name = {{native name|ceb|Dalan Colon}}
| image = Colon Street-Osmeña Boulevard intersection close-up (Cebu City; 09-05-2022).jpg
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_map =
| caption =
| namesake = Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus)
| type =
| length_km = 1.17
| length_notes = (based on Google Maps)
| location = Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines
| direction_a = East
| terminus_a = P. Burgos Street
| direction_b = West
| terminus_b = C. Padilla Street
| junction = {{ubl|D. Jakosalem Street|Junquera Street|Pelaez Street|Legaspi Street|Osmeña Boulevard|P. Lopez Street|A. Borromeo Street|Leon Kilat Street|J. Climaco Street|Panganiban Street}}
}}
'''Colon Street''' ({{Langx|ceb|Dalan Colon}}, {{Langx|fil|Kalye Colon}}, {{Langx|jpn|眠り姫の街(コロン・ストリート)}}, {{Langx|es|Calle Colón}}; {{IPA|tl|koˈlɔn}}, {{IPA|es|koˈlon}}) is a historical street in Cebu City. Located in the city's downtown, Colon Street is often called the oldest<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bunachita |first=Jose Santino S. |date=2015-07-29 |title=P5-M study set for the revitalization of old Colon Street |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/64883/p5-m-study-set-for-the-revitalization-of-old-colon-street |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=INQUIRER.net |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wani |first=Rhodalyn C. |title=Images of Calle Colon: Evoking Memories of a Cebuano Street |date=2009 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/29792663 |journal=Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |jstor=29792663 |issn=0115-0243}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wheeler |first=Tony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nydlZkiKSi4C |title=South-East Asia on a Shoestring |date=1992 |publisher=Lonely Planet Publications |isbn=978-0-86442-125-8 |language=en}}</ref> and shortest<ref>{{Cite web |last=Doronio |first=Junex |date=2022-09-15 |title=TGIF as night market at Cebu City's historic Colon street returns |url=https://maharlika.tv/2022/09/15/tgif-as-night-market-at-cebu-citys-historic-colon-street-returns/ |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Maharlika TV |language=en-US |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126010947/https://maharlika.tv/2022/09/15/tgif-as-night-market-at-cebu-citys-historic-colon-street-returns/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> national road in the Philippines. It is named after Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barreveld |first=Dirk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pihdCAAAQBAJ |title=CEBU - A Tropical Paradise in the Pacific |date=2014-10-06 |publisher=Lulu Press, Inc |isbn=978-1-312-57719-0 |language=en}}</ref> Built in 1565, the street traces its origins to Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the Spain|Spanish conquistador who arrived in the Philippines to establish a colony in the 16th century and eventually developed the street under his leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barr |first=Cameron W. |date=October 27, 1995 |title=Hard Times On a Timeless Street In the Philippines |work=Christian Science Monitor |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1995/1027/27101.html |access-date=2023-01-26 |issn=0882-7729}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Colon Street |url=https://guidetothephilippines.ph/destinations-and-attractions/colon-street |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=Guide to the Philippines |language=en}}</ref>
Colon, crowded and a bit run-down now, was the site of fashionable shops, offices, and movie houses. It was once the heart of Cebu City's shopping and business activity. Beginning in the early 1990s, much of this activity has shifted to the more modern, bigger, and diverse commercial and business districts now spread in almost all of the urban areas of Cebu in what was considered residential and leisure settlements.<ref>[http://www.admu.edu.ph/offices/mirlab/panublion/r7_colonparian.html Cebu City: Colon and the Parian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314194625/http://www.admu.edu.ph/offices/mirlab/panublion/r7_colonparian.html |date=2007-03-14 }}. Accessed March 7, 2007</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = right
| width =100
| image1 =Daang Colon NHI historical marker.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 =Colon Street Historical Marker in Cebuano text.JPG
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer =Colon Street historical marker in Filipino (left) and Cebuano (right)
| footer_align = left
}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| width =100
| image1 =Daang Colon NHI historical marker.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 =Colon Street Historical Marker in Cebuano text.JPG
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| footer =Colon Street historical marker in Filipino (left) and Cebuano (right)
| footer_align = left
}}
In 2006, the Cebu City Council proposed a plan to close parts of Colon Street from vehicular traffic and convert it into a tourism zone.<ref>[http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view_article.php?article_id=28041 Colon Street eyed as special tourism zone - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923190252/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view_article.php?article_id=28041 |date=2008-09-23 }}. Accessed March 8, 2007</ref> However, this proposal received opposition from businessmen and motorists due to concerns about security and parking spaces.<ref>[http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view_article.php?article_id=28172 Closing Colon a big challenge - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923190257/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view_article.php?article_id=28172 |date=2008-09-23 }}. Accessed March 8, 2007</ref>
In 2007, the Colon Night Market, which aims to revive Colon as a vibrant commercial hub, was launched. The night market runs multiple times throughout the year, most notably during the Christmas in the Philippines|Filipino Christmas season from September to December until the Sinulog celebrations in January of the following year.<ref>{{ cite web |last=Tocino |first=Kevin |date=November 20, 2016 |title=The Cultural Purpose of Colon Night Market |url=https://www.y101fm.com/features/lifestyle/cebu-s-best/4615-the-cultural-purpose-of-colon-night-market |publisher=y101fm |website=y101fm.com |accessdate=February 3, 2023 }}</ref> Since its launch, the night market has run yearly with the exemption of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{ cite news |last=Erram |first=Morexette Marie |date=September 15, 2022 |title=Colon Night Market returns |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/464202/colon-night-market-returns |work=CDN Digital |accessdate=February 3, 2023 }}</ref>
== Historical dispute ==
While Colon Street has long been recognized as the oldest street in the Philippines, this claim is being challenged. Historians point out that no document or map confirms the construction of Colon Street during the initial period of the Spanish era in the Philippines. The earliest map indicating the presence of Colon Street was dated 1873.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erram |first=Morexette Marie |date=2025-02-24 |title=EXPLAINER: Why Colon might not be the oldest street in PH |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/624252/explainer-why-colon-might-not-be-the-oldest-street-in-ph |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref>
While Colon Street has long been recognized as the oldest street in the Philippines, this claim is being challenged. Historians point out that no document or map confirms the construction of Colon Street during the initial period of the Spanish era in the Philippines. The earliest map indicating the presence of Colon Street was dated 1873.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erram |first=Morexette Marie |date=2025-02-24 |title=EXPLAINER: Why Colon might not be the oldest street in PH |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/624252/explainer-why-colon-might-not-be-the-oldest-street-in-ph |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref>
The origin of Colon Street being labeled as the oldest street in the Philippines can be traced back to 1910. During that time, Cebu-based shop American Bazar sold a postcard showing a section of Colon Street with a label "Oldest Street in Cebu".<ref>{{Cite web |last=MYTV |title=Historian: Colon is not the oldest street in the Philippines |url=https://mytv.ph/article/historian:_colon_is_not_the_oldest_street_in_the_philippines |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=mytv.ph |language=en}}</ref> A few years later, photo studio L.G. Joseph printed a postcard of the same street, this time with the label “Oldest Street in the Philippines”. The claim gained further traction in 1933, when the American Express Company added this information to their first ever guidebook of the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vela |first=Juan Carlo de |date=2025-02-04 |title=Colon is ‘not the oldest street’ in PH |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/colon-is-not-the-oldest-street-in-ph |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=SunStar Publishing Inc. |language=en}}</ref>
== See also ==
Calle Escolta, a historic street in Manila, Philippines
Calle Real, Iloilo|Calle Real, a historic street in Iloilo City, Philippines
== References ==
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{{Coord|10|17|48.28|N|123|53|56.45|E|display=title}}
{{Cebu City}}
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