Gran Vía Madrid: the history of a street that took 40 years to build

The Gran Vía was not built overnight. It took forty years to complete, demolished more than three hundred properties and transformed the centre of Madrid forever. This is its history.

Why Madrid needed a great avenue

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Madrid's historic centre was a labyrinth. Narrow alleyways, insanitary buildings, a medieval urban fabric that could not meet the needs of a growing city. The solution that had been on paper for decades was a grand avenue cutting through the centre, connecting the Argüelles district to Calle Alcalá.

The project was approved in 1901, but work did not begin until 1910. Those nine years of delay involved negotiations, compulsory purchases and controversies over the alignment. When the first stone was finally laid, King Alfonso XIII did the honours in person. The gesture had the pomp that befitted a project all Madrid had been waiting for — and many residents had been dreading.

Three sections, three styles, forty years

The Gran Vía was built in three phases, each with its own distinct character.

The first section, between Alcalá and the Red de San Luis, was completed between 1910 and 1917. It is the most eclectic: facades with classicist and modernist references, varied heights. The building that best represents it is La Unión y el Fénix, with its bronze dome on the corner with Alcalá.

The second section, from the Red de San Luis to Calle Montera, is the most commercial and contains the greatest concentration of historic theatres. The Palacio de la Prensa and the Teatro Lara date from this phase, completed in 1922.

The third section, from Montera to the Plaza de España, is the most imposing. It was built between 1922 and 1931, during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the Second Republic. This is where the Edificio Telefónica stands — Spain's first skyscraper, which during the Civil War served as a visual reference point for artillery aiming at the city centre.

The buildings you must not miss

The Metrópolis Building stands at the southern end, at the junction with Alcalá, and was designed by the French architects Jules and Raymond Février between 1905 and 1911. Its slate dome crowned by the winged figure of Victory is recognisable from several points across the city. It is, arguably, the most reproduced image of the Gran Vía.

The Capitol building, from 1933, represents the shift towards rationalism and American art deco influences. It was the first building in Madrid to have air conditioning.

The Edificio Telefónica at number 28 merits special mention. At 89 metres high, it was the tallest building in Europe at its inauguration in 1929. Its red brick and white stone facade carries the influence of New York beaux-arts style, and its role during the Civil War gives it a historical dimension that extends well beyond its architecture.

The Gran Vía today: between tourism and real city life

For decades, the Gran Vía was Madrid's principal commercial and entertainment axis. Theatres, cinemas, top-category hotels and department stores coexisted along a single avenue that concentrated the best the city had to offer.

Today that function has shifted. Mass tourism has transformed much of the ground floor into souvenir shops, international chains and restaurants geared towards visitors. The Gran Vía remains impressive from the pavement, but its character as a space of everyday life has faded.

Even so, it remains essential for understanding Madrid. Not as a showcase of the present, but as an archive of the twentieth century. For those wishing to explore more of the city's urban history, the article on the Los Austrias neighbourhood is a good starting point for seeing the Madrid that existed before the Gran Vía arrived.

If you plan to walk it, do so early in the morning or at dusk. The light transforms the buildings considerably and the traffic allows the avenue to be seen with something approaching calm. And if you want to understand Madrid beyond the guidebooks, at Aedara we do that too.

References

Ayuntamiento de Madrid. (2026). Neighbourhoods and districts of Madrid.

Comunidad de Madrid. (2026). Public services.