The Telefónica Building, in Spanish ''Edificio Telefónica'', is a

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is located in Gran Via 28. At the time of construction it was the tallest

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an skyscraper with 89 m of roof height, until in 1940, when the Terrazza Martini Tower opened in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Madrid_-_Gran_Via_07_(Edificio_Telefonica)

History

The Telefónica Building was designed by Ignacio de Cárdenas, who conceived it after a previous study of Lewis S. Weeks in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Even though the building is of American inspiration, Cárdenas touch can be felt in its

churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...

exterior ornamentation, a nod to Madrid

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. Its construction started in 1926 and it was fully completed in March 1929, despite opening its doors officially on 1 January 1930. The workforce was composed of more than 1000 workers and the final cost added up to 32 million pesetas. It became one of the first skyscrapers in Europe. It also held the Madrid height record by surpassing the Palacio de la Prensa, which it maintained until it was overtaken in 1953 by the Edificio España. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

it was used as an observatory by the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

forces to watch the whereabouts of

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spani ...

troops. This reason, and the fact of being the Office of Foreign Press, made it a target of bombings during the war.

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

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and

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

sent their reports from inside the premises, controlled by the Republican foreign press censhorship office, whose head was

Arturo Barea Arturo Barea Ogazón (20 September 1897 – 24 December 1957) was a Spanish journalist, broadcaster and writer. After the Spanish Civil War, Barea left with his wife Ilsa Barea to live in exile in England where he died. Biography Barea was ...

Skyline

The Telefónica Building rises to 89 metres. It comprises 14 high-ceiling floors plus a basement, a semibasement and a central tower, which is currently topped by mobile communication antennas. It can be seen from many places in Madrid city centre. From 1967 to 2013, its red lit clock has become a landmark at dusk and night. From 1 July 2013, the colour of the clock is blue to better accommodate the

Telefónica Telefónica, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It is one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world. It provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadba ...

corporate brand. It prevails as the tallest building in Gran Vía, with the exception of Edificio España and the Torre de Madrid at the end of Gran Vía.

Nowadays

It currently hosts the Telefónica Foundatio

a Telecommunications Museum and an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

. The Foundation hosts numerous art events and talks by renowned creators such as Vanessa Murrell, Johanna Jaskowska,

Guillermo Arriaga Guillermo Arriaga Jordán (; born 13 March 1958) is a Mexican author, screenwriter, director and producer. Self-defined as "a hunter who works as a writer," he is best known for his Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and BAFTA Award f ...

Afua Hirsch Afua Hirsch (born 1981) is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for '' The Guardian'' newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. Early life Afua Hirsch was born in ...

Suzy Amis Cameron Suzy Amis Cameron (born Susan Elizabeth Amis; January 5, 1962) is an American environmental advocate, and a former actress and model. Her acting career began in 1985, known for roles in '' The Ballad of Little Jo'', '' The Usual Suspects'' and ...

Saskia Sassen Saskia Sassen (born January 5, 1947) is a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in New York City, and Centennial ...

and

Richard Sennett Richard Sennett (born 1 January 1943) is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. He is currently a Senior Fellow of the Center on Capitalis ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telefonica Building Skyscraper office buildings in Madrid Office buildings completed in 1929 Gran Vía (Madrid) Buildings and structures in Universidad neighborhood, Madrid