Hagatna · GU

San Antonio Bridge

A stone arch from the Spanish colonial era, San Antonio Bridge stands as the only surviving Spanish-era bridge in Hagåtña, Guam's historic capital. Built around 1800 under Governor Manuel Muro to carry traffic across the Agaña River, it withstood the World War II bombings that flattened much of Hagåtña around it. Today the river no longer flows beneath it—diverted in 1946—but that very absence gives the bridge a quiet, almost cinematic quality. You cross dry stone where boats once navigated, and beside the arch sits the Sirena statue, a mermaid figure from Chamorro folklore, watching over a park of flame trees and shade that most tour buses speed right past. The name in Chamorro is Tolai Acho', and the bridge is a recognized U.S. National Historic Landmark. It is a small site—a ten-minute detour from any Hagåtña walk—but it carries a layered story of Spanish administration, wartime survival, and the oral legends of the Chamorro people in a single compact location. Across the open space stands a monument to Don Pedro Martinez, a prominent local businessman, giving the entire area the feel of a neighborhood park with a historical backbone rather than a formal museum.