Ayala Center is the trademark given to the branch of the Philippine-owned Ayala Corporation dedicated to shopping complexes. The name "Ayala Center" is the name which many of the malls themselves are referred to, probably as it was the name of the original complex in Metro Manila.
Ayala Center Makati is located in Barangay San Lorenzo in Makati City, at the corner of Ayala Avenue and EDSA in Makati's central business district. Ayala Center Makati is a recreational, shopping, dining and entertainment development located near the corner of Ayala Avenue and EDSA and is serviced by an MRT station. The development originally started with the Glorietta mall and the Greenbelt, an area of dining and recreation, before expanding itself to cover over 50 hectares of facilities. Today, the complex now includes Ascott Makati, a park, several cinemas (located within Glorietta and Greenbelt), an SM mall and the Ayala Museum, showcasing significant exhibits on Philippine history.
The 2007 Glorietta explosion ripped through the Glorietta 2 section of the Glorietta shopping complex at Ayala Center in Makati, Metropolitan Manila, in the Philippines on 19 October 2007 at around 1:25 PM PST.
As of October 21, 2007, the death toll in the explosion has reached 11 while the injured remains at 120. Although there were conflicting reports as to cause, initially an LPG accident then a terrorist bomb, as of October 22 authorities are reconsidering the theory of an accident as no bomb shrapnel were found at the blast site.