Gran Vía (Madrid)

Gran Via is one of the main streets in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain. It starts at Calle de Alcalá and ends at Plaza de España. It has been an important landmark in the city since its construction at the beginning of the 20th century, from a commercial, tourist and leisure point of view.

In this last aspect, it is famous for its cinemas, although in recent years some of them have closed and others have been converted into musical theatres, which is why the section between Plaza del Callao and Plaza de España is known as the “Madrid Broadway”. The section between the San Luis network and Plaza del Callao is currently home to numerous stores of international fashion chains.

Currently, vehicle traffic is permitted, although in December 2016 and 2017 it temporarily pedestrianised several of the traffic lanes.1 At the end of March 2018, Madrid City Council began pedestrianising one lane in each direction as part of a plan to widen sidewalks and remodel some squares around the street, as well as creating a residential priority zone.

History

In the mid-19th century, Madrid’s urban planners determined that a new thoroughfare should be created, connecting the Calle de Alcalá with the Plaza de España – similar to Haussmann’s renovation of Paris (France). The projects called for the demolition of many buildings in the centre of the city, earning the project the name of ‘an axe blow on the map’.

Decades after the first plans were revealed, ground-breaking and construction tarried causing the media to ridicule the project, cynically calling it the ‘Gran Vía’ or ‘Great Way’ or ‘Big Way’.

Finally in 1904, it was approved and construction started in 1910. The last part of the street was completed in 1929. At the end of March 2018, the city council of Madrid began the pedestrianization of a lane in each direction as part of a plan to extend sidewalks and remodel some squares around the street. This was related to the introduction of Madrid Central, a Residential Priority Area, later in 2018.

Main attractions

Edificio Metrópolis (1911), the work of architects Jules and Raymond Février. Strictly speaking, it does not belong to this street, as it is number 39 on Calle de Alcalá, but, going up from Plaza de Cibeles, it serves as an undoubted calling card for Gran Vía.

Edificio Grassy (1916-1917), by Eladio Laredo y Carranza. An eclectic style building with reliefs and modernist tiles. Throughout its history it has been occupied by the Molinero café, the Sicilia-Molinero restaurant, the Aeolian piano house and the Grassy jewellery store since 1952, which has a clock museum.
La Gran Peña building (1917), at number 2, work of Eduardo Gambra Sanz.

Gran Vía 3 (1918), by Luis Martínez-Feduchi Ruiz.
Gran Vía 4 (1917-1919), by José María Mendoza Ussía.
Gran Vía 5, (1915-1916), homes and offices for Mr. Juan Giralt de la Porta.
Gran Vía 6 (1917-1919), by José María Mendoza Ussía and Aragón Pradera.
La Estrella Insurance Building, at number 7 (1917-1922), by Jerónimo Pedro Mathet Rodríguez. Neo-Renaissance style.
Gran Vía 8 (1915), by Francisco Pérez de los Cobos. The first house to be completed on the new avenue. The famous Aquiles Caserta bakery-café was located here. The Loewe store has been located on the ground floor since 1939.

Gran Vía 9, by Francisco Reynals Toledo.
Gran Vía 10, by Jerónimo Pedro Mathet Rodríguez.
Gran Vía 12, by Eduardo Reynals. In 1932, the Bar Chicote opened on the ground floor.
Casino Militar, at number 13, by Eduardo Sánchez Eznarriaga. With baroque influences but with the more contemporary touch of the iron and glass canopy that covers the entrance door.
Gran Vía 15 (1918-1921), by Juan García Cascales.

Rear façade of the Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia (1916), at number 17. From Gran Vía only the apse of this church can be seen, the work of Juan de Villanueva. The architect Carlos de Luque designed a new façade aligned with the rest of the buildings. In the seventies, Francisco Javier Feduchi Benlliure left the apse visible by creating a large arch in Luque’s façade.
Gran Vía 18 (1915-1916), by Felipe de Sala Blanco and Eduardo Reynals.
Gran Via 19 (1977), by Francisco Calero.

Gran Via 21 (1915-1918), by Julio Martínez-Zapata.
Gran Via 22 (1919), by Secundino Zuazo.
Gran Via 22 duplicated, by Lomas, Manchobes and Vicente García Cabrera.
Circle of the Mercantile and Industrial Union (1918-1924), at number 24, by Luis Sainz de los Terreros Gómez de las Bárcenas.