Ayala Avenue is a major

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi- lane hig ...

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentratio ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is one of the busiest roads in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

, crossing through the heart of the

Makati Central Business District The Makati Central Business District (Makati CBD), is a financial and central business district in the Philippines located in the heart of Makati in Metro Manila. It is politically known as "Central Cluster" in the West District of Makati. It ...

. Because of the many businesses located along the avenue, Ayala Avenue is nicknamed the "

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...

of the Philippines" and dubbed in the 1970s and 1980s as the "

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd St ...

of the Philippines". It is also a major link between

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or citi ...

(EDSA) and Metropolitan Avenue. Part of Ayala Avenue from Metropolitan Avenue to

Gil Puyat Avenue Senator Gil J. Puyat Avenue, also known simply as Gil Puyat Avenue and formerly and still referred to as Buendia Avenue, is a major arterial thoroughfare which travels east–west through the cities of Makati and Pasay in western Metro Manila, P ...

, known as the Ayala Avenue Extension, also forms part of Circumferential Road 3.

History

Ayala Avenue's segment from the present-day Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue to

Makati Avenue Makati Avenue ( fil, Abenida Makati) is a major commercial thoroughfare in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It forms the eastern border of Ayala Triangle and is one of the three main avenues of the Makati Central Business District. The avenue ...

used to be the primary runway of the Nielson Airport, which was inaugurated in 1937 and was one of the first airports built in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

, while its extension occupies a segment of an old road that connected the

Santa Ana Park The Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park is a mixed-used venue which features the Santa Ana Park racetrack in Naic, Cavite, Philippines. It hosts the Philippine Racing Club. SCLP occupies and houses around 1,000 thoroughbreds as of 2018. History The ...

and McKinley–Pasay Road. The airport was destroyed during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of t ...

on December 10, 1941, and resumed operations after the end

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in 1947. The airport closed in 1948 and its permanent facilities were passed on the owner of the land, Ayala y Compañía. The runways were then converted into roads as part of Ayala's plan to build a new business district in the area. The modern avenue was completed in 1958, eventually connecting it to Highway 54 (now EDSA). It later created a new segment between Kamagong Street in San Antonio Village and Metropolitan Avenue, connecting it to South Avenue. In 1998, a flyover was built for left turners onto

EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...

northbound.

Landmarks

Ayala Center

The

Ayala Center The Ayala Center is a major commercial development operated by Ayala Land located in the Makati Central Business District in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. About the Center The Ayala Center is a recreational, shopping, dining, and enter ...

, which comprises eight distinct shopping centers, is partially located on Ayala Avenue, specifically the Glorietta complex, including

Rustan's Rustan's is a Philippine chain of upmarket department stores owned by the Rustan Group of Companies (RGOC). Rustan's Department Store is the flagship brand of the Rustan Group of Companies and has five major branches, three boutiques and an onl ...

, and 6750 Ayala Avenue, as well as the

Makati Shangri-La Hotel Makati Shangri-La, Manila was a hotel located in Makati and one of the three hotels managed by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts in Metro Manila, Philippines. Opening on April 27, 1993, the hotel had 696 rooms and suites at the time of its tempor ...

and the One Ayala complex.

Ayala Triangle

The Ayala Triangle is a sub-district of the Makati Central Business District, comprising the parcel of land between Ayala Avenue,

and

Paseo de Roxas Paseo de Roxas is a prime commercial artery in the Makati Central Business District of Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a two- to six-lane avenue that cuts through the middle of the business district connecting San Lorenzo Village in the west to ...

, as well as the buildings on those streets. Many multinational companies, banks and other major businesses are located within the triangle. A few upscale boutiques, restaurants and a park called Ayala Triangle Gardens are also located in the area.

PBCom Tower

PBCom Tower The Philippine Bank of Communications Tower, more commonly known as PBCom Tower, is an office skyscraper ranked officially as the second tallest building in the Philippines. It was previously the tallest building in the Philippines, a title it ...

, one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines, is located at Ayala Avenue and V.A. Rufino Street. It serves as the headquarters of Philippine Bank of Communications. It was the tallest building in the Philippines from 2000 to 2017.

Apartment Ridge

Apartment Ridge is a complex of apartment and condominium buildings along the streets of Makati and Ayala Avenues outside Urdaneta Village. In this area, The Peninsula Manila,

Makati Tuscany Makati Tuscany is a 27-storey residential building in Ayala Avenue, in Makati beside Discovery Primea Discovery Primea is a 68-storey mixed-use residential tower and one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines located in Makati along A ...

, Discovery Primea, The Estate Makati, Ritz Towers, Pacific Plaza Condominium, Twin Towers, and Urdaneta Apartments are located along the avenue.

Government-owned buildings

* Makati City Police Station * Makati City Fire Station

Other famous buildings

Ayala Avenue is home to many other landmark buildings, which house many large Philippine businesses including: * PNB Makati Center (Allied Bank Center; former headquarters of Allied Bank) * Alphaland Makati Place * Alveo Financial Tower * Ayala North Exchange * Ayala Avenue Office Tower (headquarters of

Monde Nissin Corporation Monde Nissin Corporation is a Philippine food and beverage company with a portfolio of brands across instant noodles, biscuits, baked goods, culinary aids and alternative meat products categories, including Lucky Me!, SkyFlakes, Fita, M.Y. San ...

) *

Ayala Tower One Tower One & Exchange Plaza is one of the tallest skyscrapers in the Philippines. It is located in the Makati Central Business District and has a height of . The building has 35 floors above ground level, and is originally planned to be the fir ...

(headquarters of the

Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (Spanish: ''Corporación Ayala'', formerly ''Ayala y Compañía'' (Ayala & Company)) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and An ...

and home to the

Philippine Stock Exchange The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. ( fil, Pamilihang Sapi ng Pilipinas; ) is the national stock exchange of the Philippines. The exchange was created in 1992 from the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange. Includin ...

's Makati trading floor) *

Bank of the Philippine Islands Bank of the Philippine Islands ( fil, Bangko ng Kapuluang Pilipinas, es, Banco de las Islas Filipinas, commonly known as BPI; ) is a universal bank in the Philippines. It is the first bank in both the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is t ...

headquarters * Convergys Philippines Services Center *

The Enterprise Center The Enterprise Center is an office skyscraper located in Makati, Philippines. It is owned and developed by KSA Realty Corporation, a joint venture between the Kuok Group (majority shareholder), ING, and A. Soriano Corporation (ANSCOR).Shang Prope ...

neoclassical twin towers * G.T. International Tower * Insular Life Building (old headquarters of

Insular Life The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. (commonly known by its trade name, Insular Life, and shortened as InLife) is a mutual life insurance company in the Philippines. Established on November 25, 1910 in Manila, it is the first Filipino life in ...

) * LKG Tower * L. V. Locsin Building * Makati Sky Plaza * STI Holdings Center * The Peninsula Manila *

PeopleSupport Essar Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, founded by Shashi Ruia and Ravi Ruia in 1969. As Essar Global Fund Limited (EGFL), the company controls a number of assets across the core sectors of energy (oil refining, oil and ...

Center * PLDT Tower (headquarters of PLDT, Inc.) * RCBC Plaza (headquarters of the

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation The Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) () is one of the largest universal banks in the Philippines with total consolidated resources of Php 959 billion. It was established in 1960 as a development bank and is licensed by the Bangko Se ...

) *

Rufino Plaza Rufino Pacific Tower or more commonly known as Rufino Tower or Rufino Plaza is an office skyscraper and is one of the tallest buildings in the Philippines and tallest buildings in Metro Manila. It remains as the tallest steel-framed building in ...

(headquarters of the

Rufino Family The Rufino family are a prominent family of business owners, politicians, and philanthropists in the Philippines. Prominent members of the family include former Forbes richest Filipina, media powerhouse Marixi Rufino-Prieto of the Philippine Dail ...

) * Security Bank Center (headquarters of the

Security Bank Corporation Security Bank Corporation (SBC) is a universal bank in the Philippines. It was established on June 18, 1951, as Security Bank and Trust Company and was the first private and Filipino-controlled bank of the post-World War II period. Security B ...

) * Smart Tower (headquarters of the

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart (and officially stylized/ self-styled as SMART), is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provi ...

) * SSS Makati Building (former headquarters of Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc.) * Sycip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. (SGV) Building (a member firm of

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Delo ...

Global)

Other structures

* The monuments of

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipinos, Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Cor ...

and

Gabriela Silang María Josefa Gabriela Cariño de Silang (; 19 March 1731 – 20 September 1763) was a Filipino military leader best known for her role as the female leader of the Ilocano independence movement from Spain. She took over from her second husba ...

* Pedestrian underpasses at Parkway Drive (Glorietta), Legazpi, Paseo de Roxas, V.A. Rufino and Salcedo/H.V. Dela Costa intersections

Intersections

Ayala Avenue, Makati Avenue, PSE (Makati; 01-31-2021)

References

{{coord, 14, 33, 22, N, 121, 1, 19, E, type:landmark, display=title Streets in Metro Manila Makati Central Business District Shopping districts and streets in Metro Manila Zobel de Ayala family