Gran Vía, Madrid
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The Gran Vía (, ''Great Way'') is a street in central
Madrid, Spain Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
. It leads from
Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...
, close to Plaza de Cibeles, to . The street, sometimes referred to as the "Spanish Broadway", is one of the city's most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theatres. However, since the late 2000s, many of these theatres have been replaced by shopping centres. The Gran Vía serves as a showcase of early 20th-century revival architecture, with architectural styles ranging from
Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Ho ...
style,
Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...
,
Neo-Mudéjar Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America. This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style. It was an architectural trend of the late 19 ...
, and
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
, among others.


History


Conception

In the mid-19th century, Madrid's urban planners determined that a new thoroughfare should be created, connecting the Calle de Alcalá with the – similar to
Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by French Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval ...
. 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.


Names

The Gran Vía of Madrid has had many historical names, both official and unofficial. Conception divided the road into three parts. The first one was built between 1910 and 1917 and was called ''Calle del Conde de Peñalver'' ("Count of Peñalver Street"). The second part of the project commenced in 1917 and concluded in 1921. It was named ''Calle de Pi y Margall'' (" Francisco Pi y Margall Street") after a deceased politician. Construction of the third and last part of the road did not start until 1925 and was called ''Calle Eduardo Dato Iradier'' ("Eduardo Dato Street") after another politician. Three months before the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
began, the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
changed some street 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 renamed ''Avenida de Rusia'' ("
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
Avenue") due to the support the country had for the Spanish Republic, but soon its name would be changed to ''Avenida de la Unión Soviética'' ("
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
Avenue"). However, the avenue was popularly nicknamed as ''Avenida de los obuses'' ("
howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...
avenue") because of the continued bombardments by the Nationalist forces loyal to
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...
. The reason for these attacks in this area was that the "Edificio de Telefónica" (the Spanish phone company) was on this street, and due to its height it served aviation as a reference point during shellings. Just after the end of the war when the rebels entered
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, they renamed the road ''Avenida de José Antonio'' (" José Antonio Avenue") after one of their greatest political figures, founder of the fascist party, Falange. It wouldn't be until 1981, once
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
had returned to democracy, that the socialist mayor restored the names of 27 streets and the avenue was simply named ''Gran Vía'' ("Great Way").


Notable buildings

The new road created opportunities for architects, who had the opportunity to create large buildings in the latest architectural styles. The first eye-catching building starting on the
Calle de Alcalá Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for , to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid rang ...
is the most famous of all, the Edificio Metrópolis or Metropolis Building. The landmark was built between 1907 and 1911 by the father and son architects
Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...
and Raymond Février. The original statue, La Unión y el Fénix was replaced in 1975 by a statue of a winged Goddess
Victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...
. A bit further along the Gran Vía, on the left-hand side is another landmark, the
Edificio Grassy The Edificio Grassy is a building located at 1 Gran Vía (Madrid), Gran Vía in Madrid, Spain. Architecture Situated just off Calle de Alcalá, at the very beginning of Gran Vía, the Edificio Grassy was built between 1916 and 1917. It was constr ...
, another corner building with a small tower, built in 1917. Visible from here is the tower of the
Telefónica Building The Telefónica Building, in Spanish ''Edificio Telefónica'', is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain, which serves as the registered office of the namesake telecommunications company. It is located in Gran Via 28. At the time of construction it wa ...
, it was built between 1926 and 1929 for the Spanish telecommunications company. The 88-metre (290 ft) building was the tallest in Madrid and was designed by Ignacio de Cárdenas, who was inspired by a similar design intended to be built in Manhattan, New York, by the American Louis S. Weeks. Other buildings include:


Plazas

Further towards 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 theatres. One of them, the Capitol, is located in a beautiful
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
building. However, changes in building rules have allowed the reformation of the theatres into more lucrative shopping centres. The last part of the Gran Vía, constructed between 1925 and 1929 leads to the , a large square dominated by two skyscrapers built in the 1950s, the symmetric
Edificio España The Hotel Riu Plaza España is a historic skyscraper, the 8th tallest building in Madrid, Spain. It opened in 1953 as the Edificio España (), a mixed-use structure containing a hotel, offices, apartments and shops. It is an example of 20th-centur ...
and the Torre de Madrid. Here the Gran Vía becomes the Calle Princesa, leading north to the Arco de la Victoria.


In media

*''La Gran Vía'' (1886) by Federico Chueca is a satirical
zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...
in which the anthropomorphized streets of Madrid complain about how the city will lose by their destruction and replacement by the new project. *In a scene of the Álex de la Iglesia's 1995 sci-fi/horror film '' The Day of the Beast'',
Santiago Segura Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books. At 12, he began ...
hangs above Gran Vía from the iconic neon advertisement for
Schweppes Schweppes ( , ) is a soft drink brand founded in the Republic of Geneva in 1783 by the German watchmaker and amateur scientist Johann Jacob Schweppe; it is now made, bottled, and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, de ...
on Edificio Carrión/Capitol. *The opening scene of Alejandro Amenabar's 1997 film '' Open Your Eyes'' famously features a shocking view of the Gran Vía completely empty of vehicles and people. This was filmed in the early morning of a weekend in August 1996, and the street had to be intermittently closed off to traffic for six hours to achieve it. This shot was later recreated for the American remake, ''
Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was writ ...
'', at
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. *''Gran Via'' is also the title of the 1995 album by Matt Bianco. *''
The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is the first novel by the American writer Ernest Hemingway, following his experimental novel-in-fragments '' In Our Time (short story collection)'' (1925). It portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Par ...
'' by
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
ends with
Jake Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach * Jake, a member of the band Enhy ...
and Brett in a taxi on Gran Vía. * At the end of
Georges Conchon Georges Conchon (; 9 May 1925 – 29 July 1990) was a French writer and screenwriter. Biography He grew up in a family of teachers,Pierre Maury: '. archives.lesoir.be, 31. Juli 1990. and after graduating in philosophy, passed the support of t ...
's 1959 novel "La Corrida de la victoire" (published in English as "The Hollow Victory") the protagonist – a former soldier of the Spanish Republic fleeing Spain after Franco's victory – takes the quixotic and defiant gesture of openly walking one last time along the Gran Vía in August 1939, at considerable risk to his life since captured Republicans were at this time often shot. *Gran Vía is driven through as part of the "Madrid Drive" course in the mobile game ''
Mario Kart Tour is a 2019 kart racing mobile game developed and published by Nintendo for Android and iOS. It is the ninth game in the Mario Kart series. The game features biweekly, downloadable themed tours with different cups, each of which has three course ...
''.


References


External links

*
Gran Via entry
on A View On Cities – Source
Official website of the Gran Vía Centenary – Madrid CouncilGran Vía guide and history – Madrid CouncilGran Vía view from the Madrid Tourist Bus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gran Via (Madrid) Shopping districts and streets in Spain Streets in Madrid Gran Vía (Madrid)