Balara Filters Park

Balara Filters Park
An aerial view of the Balara Filters Park
Type	Nature park
Location	Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
Area	60 hectares (600,000 m2)
Created	1953 (Metropolitan Water District) 2003 (Manila Water)
Operated by	Manila Water Quezon City Parks Development and Administration Department
Status	Opened

Coordinates: 14°39′17″N 121°4′54″E / 14.65472°N 121.08167°E / 14.65472; 121.08167

The Balara Filters Park is a 60-hectare (150-acre) park located in the Diliman village of Pansol in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the University of the Philippines Diliman main campus. It is bounded by Katipunan Avenue on the west, Capitol Hills Golf and Country Club on the north, and the upscale, gated village of La Vista along its south and east.

The park is one of the oldest recreation areas in Quezon City having been first opened to the public in 1953. It occupies part of the old Balara Filtration Plant complex, one of the main treatment facilities for water coming from the La Mesa Dam. The park is administered by the Manila Water company in partnership with the Quezon City Parks Development and Administration Department.

The park was named after its location in the Balara filters plant, which was then situated in the old barrio of Matandáng Balará. During Spanish colonial times, the area formed part of the friar estate known as Hacienda de Dilimán owned by the Society of Jesus located between the pueblos of Caloocan and Mariquina. After the Spanish–American War, the Dilimán estate was acquired by the wealthy Tuason family, including the adjacent Hacienda de Santa Mesa and Hacienda de Mariquina. Ownership of the estate was ceded to the Philippine Commonwealth government in the late 1930s, after the area was selected as a new national capital to replace Manila.