Subic Spanish Gate

The Spanish Gate is a heavy arched stone gateway near the Subic Bay waterfront — the only surviving remnant of the Spanish naval station that pre-dated the American base by over a decade. The gate is now a designated National Historical Landmark, set in a small park with interpretation panels.

It is a short stop, more interesting as a marker of the layered colonial history of the bay than as a sight in its own right. It is best combined with a stroll along the nearby boardwalk and the bay-front area.

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A story
The gate is the last surviving piece of the Spanish naval arsenal that occupied Subic Bay from 1885 until 1898, when the Americans took the territory after the Spanish-American War. The Spanish had begun building a major naval base here precisely because the bay was deep, sheltered, and unknown to Britain.

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