Gran Via Madrid Spain
by Pablo Avanzini
Title
Gran Via Madrid Spain
Artist
Pablo Avanzini
Medium
Photograph - Black And White
Description
Gran Vía (literally "Great Way") is an ornate and upscale shopping street located in central Madrid. Today the street is known as the Spanish Broadway, and is one of the streets with the most nightlife in Europe. It is known as the street that never sleeps. It leads from Calle de Alcala, close to Plaza de Cibeles, to Plaza de Espana.
The lively street is one of the city's most important shopping areas, with a large number of hotels and large movie theatres, however in recent times many of these theatres are being replaced by shopping centres. The street is also noted for the grand architecture of many of the buildings.
It is considered a showcase of early 20th-century architecture, with patterns ranging from Vienna Secession style, Plateresque, Neo-Mudejar, Art Deco and others.
In the mid 19th century, Madrid's urban planners decided that a new thoroughfare had to be created, connecting the Calle de Alcala with the Plaza de Espana. The project required many buildings in the centre 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 Via' 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.
Uploaded
September 5th, 2016
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