new center. He fixed on the Luneta, a cleared area near the water, where musicians played in the evenings. This, moved a thousand feet to the west and surrounded by governmental buildings, could serve as Manila’s command center. Broad avenues would radiate outward from it, cutting diagonally through the street grid. Why? “Because every section of the Capitol City should look with deference toward the symbol of the Nation’s power,” Burnham explained. Burnham sought to impress on Filipinos the authority of the colonial government. Yet he was ultimately less concerned with Philippine opinion than
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