United Nations Avenue (also known as U.N. Avenue and formerly known as Isaac Peral Street) is a major thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. A commercial, residential and industrial artery, it runs east–west near the city center, linking Ermita and Rizal Park with the eastern districts. It is home to the World Health Organization Western Pacific headquarters.
U.N. Avenue begins at a fork in Quirino Avenue Extension, Paz Mendoza Guazon Street, and Cristobal Street, just west of Pandacan. It continues through the area of Tanque and Isla de Provisor in the northern Paco district, passing several rows of warehouses and a few institutional buildings. West of Taft Avenue lies the busy Ermita district, with a mix of hotels like Manila Prince Hotel, and Manila Pearl Hotel; government and private offices such as PPL Building, Philtrust Bank Main Office, Philippine Insurance Commission, National Archives of the Philippines, and National Bureau of Investigation; College/Universities like Adamson University, Emillio Aguinaldo College, Technological University of the Philippines, and Sta. Isabel College; Commercial buildings like Times Plaza and U.N. Square; and hospital buildings like Manila Med, and Manila Doctors Hospital. Roxas Boulevard lies at its western terminus, with the U.S. Embassy in Manila as the terminating vista.
The avenue is served by the United Nations LRT station.
History United Nations Avenue was previously known as Isaac Peral Street, after the Spanish engineer who designed the world's first fully capable military submarine in the late 19th century. Originally a short street in Ermita, it was later extended towards Paco, linking it to what was then called Calle Canonigo, which later became part of the avenue that ended at the present-day Tanque Street. It was previously planned to reach as far as Pandacan at the east; however, it only reached up to its present-day terminus in Paco.
On November 15, 1962, the street was renamed United Nations Avenue upon the approval of Ordinance No. 4665 by Manila Mayor Antonio Villegas. The ordinance was previously enacted by the Manila Municipal Board on October 30, 1962, to honor the United Nations (UN) six days after its 17th anniversary. The renaming was also done in recognition of the World Health Organization, a UN agency, whose building was built in 1959 in the former University of the Philippines property located at the southwest corner with Taft Avenue. The avenue was also the site of the first Hilton Hotel in the Philippines, which opened in 1960. This hotel is now Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino.
Intersections
Points of interest This is ordered from west (Roxas Boulevard) to east (Paz Mendoza Guazon Avenue/President Quirino Avenue Extension/Cristobal Street):
Bayview Park Hotel Manila Manila Doctors Hospital National Bureau of Investigation (old headquarters) World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office Times Plaza Waterfront Manila Hotel and Casino (closed since the 2018 fire) United Nations station Araullo High School Plaza Rueda ManilaMed (formerly Medical Center Manila) Philippine Bible Society Manila Police District headquarters UN Square Insurance Commission Philtrust Bank Building Santa Maria Goretti Parish Pope Pius XII Catholic Center Asilo de San Vicente de Paul Unilever Philippines (old office) UN Avenue Bridge (Estero de Paco) Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple
References