Gran Vía
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Gran Vía (literally "Great Way") is an ornate and upscale shopping street located in Madrid. It leads from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de España.
The lively street is one of the city's most important shopping areas. It also contains a large number of hotels and large movie theaters. But what makes this street so special it the architectural design of many of the large buildings. While walking through this crowded street make sure you look up once in a while and admire the often lavishly decorated grand edificios.
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[edit] Conception
In the mid 19th century, Madrid's urban planners decided that a new thoroughfare had to be created, connecting the Calle de Alcalá with the Plaza de España. The project required many buildings in the center of the city to be demolished, earning it the name of 'an axe blow on the map'. Decades after the first plans were made, construction still hadn't started and the media ridiculed the project, cynically calling it the 'Gran Vía' or 'Great Road'. Finally in 1904 it was approved and construction started a couple of years later. The last part of the street was completed in 1929.
[edit] Grand edificios
The new road created opportunities for architects, who had the ability to create large buildings in the latest architectural styles. The first eye catching building starting from the Calle de Alcalá is the most famous of all, the Edificio Metrópolis or Metropolis building. The landmark was built between 1907 and 1911 after a design by the architects Jules & Raymond Février. The original statue was replaced in 1975 by a statue of a winged Goddess Victory.
A bit further along the Gran Vía, on the left hand side is another landmark, the Edificio Grassy, another corner building with a small tower. It was built in 1917. From the Edificio Grassy, you can see the tower of the Telefónica building, a skyscraper built between 1926 and 1929 for the Spanish telecommunications company. The 88m/290ft high building was the largest in Madrid and would have been a good fit in Chicago. Not surprisingly, the architect of the Telefónica building was an American, Louis S. Weeks.
[edit] Plaza del Callao
If you walk further in the direction of the Plaza de España the Gran Vía crosses a small square, the Plaza del Callao, named after the battle of El Callao. This square is the heart of cinematic Madrid, with about six movie theaters. One of them, the Capitol, is located in a beautiful Art Deco building. However, recent changes in building rules have allowed the reform of the theatres into more lucrative shopping centers.
[edit] Plaza de España
The last part of the Gran Vía, constructed between 1925 and 1929 leads to the Plaza de España, a large square dominated by two skyscrapers built in the 1950s, the symmetric Edificio de España and the Torre de Madrid. Here the Gran Vía becomes the Calle Princesa, leading north to the Arco de la Victoria.
[edit] Names of the way
The Gran Vía of Madrid has got a lot of names in History, officially or unofficially. Conception divided the Road in three parts. The first one was built between 1910 and 1917 and was called Calle del Conde de Peñalver ("Count of Peñalver Street"). Second part of the project started on 1917 and was ended on 1921. It was named Calle de Pi y Margall ("Francisco Pi y Margall Street") because of a deceased politician. Third part of the Road and last one did not start until 1925 and was called Calle Eduardo Dato ("Eduardo Dato Street") because of another politician.
Three months before the Spanish Civil War began, the Second Spanish Republic changed some streets names under leftist influence. The two first parts of the avenue were called Avenida de la C.N.T. ("C.N.T. Avenue"). When the Civil War started, the avenue was named Avenida de Rusia ("Russia Avenue") but its name would be changed to Avenida de la Unión Soviética ("Soviet Union Avenue"). However the avenue was popularly nicknamed as Avenida de los obuses ("howitzer avenue") because of the continues bombardments of the rebel army.
Just after the end of the war when the rebels entered in Madrid they changed the name of the road and named it Avenida de José Antonio ("José Antonio Avenue") after one of their greatest politician figures. It wouldn't be until 1981, in Spain democracy when the socialist mayor restored the names of 27 streets and the avenue was simply named Gran Vía ("Great Road").
[edit] In media
- La Gran Vía is a zarzuela.
- In a famous scene of the The Day of the Beast comedy, Santiago Segura hangs from a neon advertisement for Schweppes above Gran Vía.
[edit] External links
