FLASHBACK: Tomas Morato was once lined with sampaloc trees

Almost all of them are gone.

Imagine walking along Sampaloc Avenue in old Quezon City.

On both sides of the road stand rows of mature sampaloc trees, their branches forming a leafy corridor above a quiet residential neighborhood. At certain times of the year, the leaves fall and the entire avenue turns yellow. Days later, fresh green leaves begin to emerge.

“Nanilaw ang buong kahabaan ng Sampaloc Avenue pag ganitong panahon. Napakaganda. Parang autumn,” Dominador Gallardo recalled in a recent Facebook post.

That Sampaloc Avenue is now Tomas Morato Avenue—and most of the trees that gave the street its original name are gone.

Historical accounts say some of the trees were planted during Quezon City’s formative years by Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, the city’s first mayor Tomas Morato and Alejandro Roces Sr. In 2012, GMA News reported Manuel Morato recalling that his father and Quezon would spend weekends planting seedlings along the road.

In 1966, Sampaloc Avenue was officially renamed Don Tomas Morato Avenue through Republic Act No. 4749.

The name changed first. Eventually, so did the landscape.

As the Scout Area developed and Tomas Morato became a commercial and entertainment district, houses gave way to restaurants and other establishments. Many old trees disappeared as properties were redeveloped and space was created for businesses and parking.

Toti Soliongco, who said he grew up in the area, remembers watching it happen.

“Nakita namin kung paano unti-unting nawawala ang mga bahay, at napapalitan ng mga restaurant,” he wrote.

Then the sampaloc trees disappeared, too.

“Unti-unting nawala ang mga malalaking puno ng sampaloc na sinusungkit pa namin ng mga bunga. Sayang talaga.”

By 2012, GMA News reported that only two of the old sampaloc trees remained. Authorities said some trees had also become diseased and dangerous, requiring removal.

Today, Tomas Morato remains one of Quezon City’s best-known commercial strips.

But beneath the restaurants, traffic and buildings is the memory of another street: a quiet avenue shaded by sampaloc trees.

Sampaloc Avenue disappeared from the map in 1966. Eventually, most of the sampaloc disappeared with it.

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