The Paseo de la Castellana (called Paseo Nuevo de las Delicias de la Princesa in the 19th century) is an avenue in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain, that runs through the city from Plaza de Colón, in the centre, to the northern junction. It came into service at the beginning of the 20th century. In the first decade of the 21st century it is made up of six central lanes (main road) and four side lanes (service road).
With a north-south orientation, its initial layout corresponded to that of the old riverbed of the Fuente Castellana stream, a spring that flowed a little further north of the current Plaza de Gregorio Marañón. It extended beyond said spring, to the so-called Nuevos Ministerios, where the old Madrid racetrack was located. From there an extension was made, planned during the times of the First Republic, until it almost reached the limits of the old town of Fuencarral, today a district of Madrid.
Together with the Paseo del Prado and the Paseo de Recoletos, the Castellana forms a fundamental road axis that crosses Madrid from north to south. Its extension to the north to Fuencarral is planned, within the urban development project known as “Madrid Nuevo Norte”.
The districts of Chamberí (Almagro and Ríos Rosas neighborhoods), Tetuán (Cuatro Caminos, Castillejos and Almenara neighborhoods) and Fuencarral-El Pardo (La Paz neighborhood) lie to the West of La Castellana, while the districts of Salamanca (Recoletos and Castellana neighborhoods) and Chamartín (El Viso, Hispanoamérica, Nueva España and Castilla neighborhoods) lie to the east.
The financial center of Madrid is located along La Castellana or its immediate proximity, comprising locations such as AZCA, Puerta de Europa, and the CTBA. The street also features several embassies and hotels. Other landmarks found along this street include the Palacio de Congresos, the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence, and the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
History
The street was formerly a thalweg partially along which the Arroyo de la Castellana flowed towards its emptying in the Abroñigal. The Fuente Castellana, which was the main source of the Arroyo de la Castellana and, according to Miguel de Cervantes, a spring with “extremely cold waters”, was located near the current day plaza de Emilio Castelar.
The waterstream, formerly used as dump, was channeled in 1807. The first stretch of the street (from the Gate of Recoletos to the Fuente Castellana) was built following the western (right) bank of the stream; the works started in early 1833, and inaugurated in October 1833, it was named Paseo de las Delicias de la Princesa and Paseo de las Delicias de Isabel II after Princess/Queen Isabella, although it was popularly known as Paseo de la Fuente Castellana. The tree planting ensued for some years.
In the 1930s, during the Second Republic, the Minister Indalecio Prieto and architect Secundino Zuazo Ugalde gave the necessary boost for the expansion of the street towards the north, linked to the project of Nuevos Ministerios.
Following the Civil War, the Francoist regime resumed the works. During the dictatorship, the stretch north of the crossroads with Raimundo Fernández Villaverde and Joaquín Costa was named “Avenida del Generalísimo”. In 1980, following the return of democracy, the Madrid City Council voted to rename streets throughout the capital, reinstating those had prior to the Second Republic; these measures, passed with the votes of the PSOE and PCE municipal councillors, were opposed by the UCD councillors.
Transport
In its northern section, between the end and Plaza del Doctor Marañón, the avenue is crossed by line 10 of the Madrid Metro, with stops at Begoña (Line 10), Plaza de Castilla (Line 1, Line 10, and Line 9), Cuzco (Line 10), Santiago Bernabéu Station (Line 10), Nuevos Ministerios (Line 10, Line 6 and Line 8) and Gregorio Marañón (Line 10 and Line 7). From Plaza del Doctor Marañón towards Colón, there is no Metro line that runs along the axis, but it is crossed by lines 5 at the Rubén Darío station and 4 at the Colón station.
Cercanías Madrid has a station in Nuevos Ministerios with stops on lines C-2, C-3, C-4, C-7, C-8, and C-10. Also, although they are not on the Paseo itself, the Recoletos and Chamartín stations can be said to serve the southern and northern ends of the Paseo, respectively.
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