Makati Avenue

Makati Avenue (Filipino: Abenida Makati) is a major commercial thoroughfare in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It forms the eastern border of the Ayala Triangle and is one of the three main avenues of the Makati Central Business District. The avenue runs roughly north–south diagonally, almost parallel to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). It passes through two distinct neighborhoods of the city: the Makati CBD and the old Makati Población. At its northern end lies the older part of Makati, starting from J.P. Rizal Avenue. It continues through Población to Gil Puyat Avenue, marking the southern edge of the old district. South of Gil Puyat onto the CBD, the avenue becomes more commercial and upscale. The Ayala Center shopping hub and Arnaiz Avenue are at its southern end.

Makati Avenue

Makati Avenue as seen from the Landmark-Greenbelt Pedestrian Overpass
Former name(s)	Culi-Culi Road
Maintained by	Department of Public Works and Highways[a]
Length	2.1 km (1.3 mi)
Location	Makati, Metro Manila
North end	J.P. Rizal Avenue and P. Burgos Street in Poblacion
Major junctions	Kalayaan Avenue Gil Puyat Avenue Paseo de Roxas Ayala Avenue
South end	Arnaiz Avenue in San Lorenzo

Makati Avenue has two lanes each way in the Poblacion area and widens to three or four in the CBD. It has a short extension into the gated San Lorenzo Village as San Lorenzo Drive.

Route description

Makati Avenue begins at the intersection of Arnaiz Avenue and San Lorenzo Drive in Barangay San Lorenzo. Between its southern terminus to Ayala Avenue, it passes through the Greenbelt and Glorietta complexes, then enters Salcedo Village. The western part of the avenue is under the jurisdiction of Barangay Bel-Air, while Barangay Urdaneta is at the eastern part of the avenue.

After its intersection with Paseo de Roxas and Gil Puyat Avenue, the eastern part of the avenue enters Bel-Air until it passes Jupiter Street. Makati Avenue enters Poblacion shortly after its intersection with Jupiter Street. It passes much of Poblacion between Kalayaan Avenue and J.P. Rizal Avenue. It terminates at J.P. Rizal Avenue and continues to the Makati–Mandaluyong Bridge and Poblacion as P. Burgos Street.

History

Old Nielson Tower on Ayala Triangle, Makati Avenue

The avenue served as the primary access road to the old Nielson Field airport from the San Pedro de Macati town proper, extending up to the Manila Circumferential Road (now EDSA) at the present-day location of the Magallanes Interchange.^[2] It was known as Culi-Culi Road, which also led to the barrio of Culi-Culi (now Pio del Pilar) just west of Nielson Field.^[3][4] After the airport was closed down after World War II, its two runways were converted into wide roads known today as Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas. The airport's control tower was preserved, and is now a library called Filipinas Heritage Library.^[5] This library is located along the avenue at the southeast corner of Ayala Triangle. The subsequent development of San Lorenzo Village led to the road's section between Manila Circumferential Road and McKinley–Pasay Road (now divided into Arnaiz Avenue and McKinley Road) being removed.

Makati Avenue, particularly its northern segment in Poblacion, has a history of prostitution. The areas around P. Burgos Street, with its nightclubs, bars, and budget hotels, are considered by many to be Makati's red-light district.^{[6][better source needed]} At present, however, the area is undergoing gentrification with the completion of several new commercial developments, including the Century City mall and complex.^{[7][original research?]}

Intersections

Intersection of Makati and Ayala Avenues

The entire route is located in Makati. 

km	mi	Destinations	Notes
		Arnaiz Avenue	Southern terminus. Traffic light intersection. Continues south into San Lorenzo Village as San Lorenzo Drive.
		Esperanza Street	Entrance only to Makati Avenue southbound
		Palm Drive	Traffic light intersection. Access to Glorietta and Greenbelt complexes.
		Parkway Drive	Traffic light intersection. Access to Glorietta complex.
		De la Rosa Street	Southbound access to Legazpi Village
		Ayala Avenue	Traffic light intersection
		Santo Tomas Street	Access to Urdaneta Village and The Peninsula Manila
		Paseo de Roxas	Traffic light intersection
		H.V. De la Costa Street	Traffic light intersection on the southbound side. Southbound access to Salcedo Village.
		Buendia Extension Access Road	Southbound access only towards Gil Puyat Avenue eastbound
		Cruzada Street	Northbound access only
		N190 (Gil Puyat Avenue)	Traffic light intersection. South end of DPWH maintenance.[8]
		Jupiter Street	No left turn allowed from both northbound and southbound. Access to Bel-Air Village.
		Juno Street	Restricted access to Bel-Air Village.
		Anza Street
		P. Burgos Street	Exit from Makati Avenue only. Access to the Red Light District and the old Makati Población
		Hercules Street	Restricted access to Bel-Air Village.
		Tigris Street
		Constellation Street	Restricted access to Bel-Air Village.
		Neptune Street, Durban Street	Both entrance to Makati Avenue only
		Kalayaan Avenue	Traffic light intersection
		Eduque Street
		General Luna Street	No left turn allowed from southbound and no right turn from northbound. Access to Century City.
		Guerrero Street
		Guanzon Street
		B. Valdez Street	No right turn allowed from southbound and no left turn from northbound. Access to Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church and Saint Paul College of Makati.
		Singian Street	Unsignaled intersection
		P. Burgos Street	Northbound entrance only to Makati Avenue
		J.P. Rizal Avenue	Northern terminus; continues north towards Makati–Mandaluyong Bridge as P. Burgos Street. Traffic light intersection.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Incomplete access

Points of interest

Makati's Poblacion at Makati and Kalayaan Avenues

Makati Avenue is a retail and entertainment hub of Makati. At its south end, the avenue bisects the Ayala Center, separating Glorietta, The Landmark department store and The Link shopping mall from the more upscale Greenbelt shopping center. This section also hosts the Ayala Museum, Greenbelt Chapel, and several luxury hotels such as the Makati Shangri-La, Manila, Fairmont Hotel Manila, Raffles Hotel Manila, and New World Makati Hotel. The stretch from Ayala Avenue to Gil Puyat Avenue is the site of the Ayala Triangle Gardens, which houses the Old Nielson Tower and the future Park Central Towers. This section also hosts The Peninsula Manila, Zuellig Building, Pacific Star Building, and several other office buildings.

North of Gil Puyat are more hotels and commercial establishments, particularly near the intersection with Kalayaan Avenue. The A. Venue Mall and Century City Mall are located in this area, as are Gramercy Residences, Trump Tower Manila, Berjaya Makati Hotel, I'M Hotel Makati, St. Giles Hotel and Best Western Antel. The Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church and Saint Paul College of Makati can be accessed by turning east onto Valdez Street before reaching J.P. Rizal Avenue and the Makati–Mandaluyong Bridge.

Events

Since September 2023, the section of Makati Avenue between Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, as well as portions of the aforementioned roads, is closed to traffic every Sunday from 6:00 am to 10:00 am PHT. Branded as Car-Free Sundays, the car-free day initiative was launched by Ayala Land and the Makati City Government to promote cycling, jogging, and other recreational activities in a safer and more pedestrian-friendly environment.^[9][10]

A portion of the avenue near Ayala Avenue was also closed when the latter became the main venue of New Year's Eve celebrations beginning in 1999 and of Vice President Leni Robredo's final campaign rally (miting de avance) for her 2022 presidential campaign.^{[11][12][13][14]}

From June 21 to 22, 2025, the section of Makati Avenue between J.P. Rizal and Kalayaan was closed for the city's Pride Month celebration.^[15]

Notes

1. DPWH maintenance only covers Makati Avenue's segment between J.P. Rizal Avenue and Gil Puyat Avenue.^[1]