Makati

A Farewell to Hotel InterContinental

by

As we in the metropolis are still having a Christmas hangover while looking forward to the New Year, unfortunately one beloved landmark in the city will bade farewell along with 2015 with the Hotel InterContinental Manila having its final day of operations on New Year’s Eve and its New Year’s Eve countdown to be held there being the last event to be held in this storied hotel.

The Hotel InterContinental Manila has been pretty much a part of the cityscape of the Makati Central Business District (CBD) and the greater metropolis of Manila for over 46 years. While the hotel may not be as iconic as the Manila Hotel or The Peninsula Manila, it has a unique charm of its own that has been remembered fondly by guests and visitors who have stayed and/or visited over those years.

Read more

Christmas in the City 2015: The Lighted Displays Along Ayala Avenue

by

Christmas is in the air once again, and the metropolis is all aglow with sparkling lights, dazzling decorations and captivating spectacles that capture the senses. Not to mention the horrible traffic, but that’s another topic altogether.

As such, many of the streets these days are lighted with lanterns and colorful lights in Yuletide designs and colors. The main thoroughfare of the Makati Central Business District is one of those brightly lighted streets this season. However, the Makati CBD is doing things a bit differently this Christmas as motorists and commuters are treated to a different street light spectacle, showcasing the heritage and the (Catholic) faith of the country.

a lighted display representing Bohol’s Baclayon Church, (La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Church) originally completed in 1727 though it sustained major damage during the 2013 earthquake that hit Bohol

Read more

The Story of Ayala Triangle: Rebirth and Redevelopment

by

With Ayala scrapping its plans for Ayala Triangle at the wake of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, development has stalled in the property for a long while. For a long while, the Ayala Triangle remained a dormant property, save for the activity going on in the existing structures as well as at the park.

At the same time, the park grew as a popular open space, especially among those who work in the Makati CBD area being one of the few open spaces available in the midst of the rapid development and the towering steel and concrete structures that have sprouted in the area, even though not much has been done in the park throughout those years.

More than a decade later since the crisis, Ayala was ready to look again into the redevelopment of Ayala Triangle once again through its property development firm Ayala Land. And it was appropriate enough that the redevelopment efforts would begin with the park.

Read more

The Story of Ayala Triangle: Center of a Rising Business District

by

As the airport operations at Nielson Field have closed down by the 1950s, around the same time, plans were being made to convert the Zobel de Ayala-owned hacienda (where the airfield is located) into a modern business district, giving birth to the Makati Central Business District. As structures began to sprout left and right, the old airfield which became a triangular open space found itself in the middle of all this development.

However, it took a while for any development to be seen in the area. Apart from the Nielson Tower, the rest of the triangular space was pretty much a barren open space which sometimes was used as a football field. That football field evemtually became known as Ugarte Field, named after Sebastian Ugarte, a legendary figure in Philippine football. (and by the way, his family is related to the Zobel de Ayala, Aboitiz, and a number of Spanish mestizo families in the country)

But it would not be long for the Zobel de Ayala conglomerate to establish their presence in this piece of land, kicking off what would be a long association they would have with this triangular space.

Read more