MadridMetropolis-Madrid Details: Universidad neighborhood

Showing posts with label Universidad neighborhood. Show all posts

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Coppel Watches Madrid

The old Coppel Clock Shop was sited in number 25 and 27 of Fuencarral Street, (later became number 15 after Gran Via Street was opened).

The 20s. 27 Fuencarral street (further 15 number)

It was a factory and watch shop founded in 1887 by Charles Coppe. A foreigner settled in Spain since 1879 (it seems it had german origin as it was in Geman where he coursed his engineering studies).
Coppel watches quickly became famous in

Spain

, being considered as "the best mounted and most famous of Madrid". Specialized in wall and pocket clocks, owed his prestige to its affordable prices linked to a high quality. The production was under the leadership of a technical director of an important Swiss Clock Marking and also Coppel offered a warrantee collecting from his customers any watch that went wrong, without questioning its deterioration.
He had fifty-five employees, including spanish, german and french.

Its was a nice shop sited in Fuencarral street, in which facade was hunging a fantastic clock described as "wonderful work of mechanics built in their shops". He exhibited in his shop an average of more than four thousand watches that were constantly renewed. Coppel began with his factory at number 25 but such was the demand that he had to expand to number 25 and 27 for storage and exhibition.
In the 20s, Coppel release Press advertisements announcing its Fuencarral 15 shop (before 25-27 and now disappeared), Mayor 6 (after that was Busian Jewellery and Padilla Perfume) and in the 50s, also Gran Via ground floor (Av. José Antonio 55, disappeared). In the 60s refurbishes the local in Fuencarral street with a radical aesthetic change in style. (See HISTORY for ads at the end of this post)
The company remained as a family business through three generations. (grandparents, parents and grandchids), becaming a public limited company on March 12th, 1924.
Afterwards (and apparently by press advertisements) left the manufacturing and commercialized Swiss watch brands. It was spitted into Alfono Coppel in Mayor Street and Carlos Coppel in Fuencarral Street.
The 4th November 1997 it was presented the dissolution keeping the trademark registration.
For many establishments in Madrid, especially in the early twentieth century, Coppel supplied watches to decorate their premises. Some of them still remain. We will go trough this in next posts.

6 Mayor Street Nowadays

15 Fuencarral street nowadays

ABC Museum, Mahou Brewery, Chimneys and other things

Impacting contrast. From the latest to the oldest.

The ABC museum café generates confronted feelings.

Its architectural design with pop art reminiscences from the sixties similar to the space station from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", highly contrasts with the old building Comendadoras Convent of Santiago", place where f.e. Velazquez, Quevedo where ordain "Santiago Orden" knights.

View from Museum Coffee shop, windows from the convent

The cofee shop is a white walkway hanging from the Museum entrance courtyard

The museum is located in the building of the former brewery Mahou (1890). The entrance courtyard and inside the building was refurbished.

Outside, remains much of its original industrial aesthetic appearence.

Other part fron the building has been refurbished as apartments.

Entrance to the apartments .

This peculiar mixture of art museum, high tech cafe, nineteenth century brewery and medieval convent generates a unique space.

As a unknown and forgotten sculpture, the neighbourhood is decorated by the old chimney.

Houses and Chimney. On the righ we can see the convent

Church Convent Towers. At the back Montserrat Church Tower

The area is surrounded by tipical taverns. One of them is close to the old factory and is called "The Cangrejero". This tavern has the reputation for many years of having the longest beer coil from Madrid (180 meters and therefore, fresher beer). Also and as a myth maybe (or not) it was said that in the tavern was served the best Mahou beer from Madrid because of having a pipe directly from the brewery.. The tavern founded in 1932 (unfortunately quite refurbished ) was frequented by José Ortega y Gasset as it is nearby the university .

The "Cangrejero"

All the surroundings are worth it to visit.

For more information:
-Museo ABC. Calle Amaniel nº 21.
http://museo.abc.es/
-Tabernas y tapas en Madrid. Carlos Osorio. Ediciones La Libreria
-Guia de Arquitectura de Madrid. Tomo I. Coam.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Chapel Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Madrid

In Fuencarral Street corner to Augusto Figueroa, amongst shops, bars and crowd we can see a small brick building forgotten in the middle of the intense activity of the street.
Some neighbors stop for praying and other few to have a quick look. It is an ancient shrine.

It seems, according to some chronicles (Madoz), that was built in 1712 by Don Francisco de Felogan and Ponce de León, Navahermosa Marquis or, according to others (Peñasco y Carbonero) by La Torrecilla Marquis, who used to live in this place (both of them one side to and the other in front of Mesoneros Romanos Street)
It was built to keep the image of the Virgen de la Soledad, which existed since ancient years under an arch and lit by a lantern. It used to be an image of great devotion to the locals.

The arch under which was the image could have been part of the stables of the house (of Torrecilla Marquis) than made corner to Fuencarral and Augusto Figueroa street previously named, not by coincidence, Santa Maria’s Arch Street.

The shrine door is always closed, but you can see inside through the glass door. At night the image is lightened.
This is a simple brick and masonry building, with a large arch to Fuencarral street, an entry and a small window lintel .. The roof is topped by a wooden cornice typical of Madrid. The door and fittings are from the eighteenth century.
.

Inside you can see the picture of the Virgin (similar to the image of the painting of the Virgin of La Paloma) and a crucifix that seems to be from the seventeenth century Madrid School.
The image became popular because of the professed devotion and the many miracles attributed to it.
As it is indicated in the COAM Architecture Guide, the miracle is that this small historic shrine still exists.

For more Information:
"El antiguo Madrid". Mesoneros Romanos. 1861.
"Iglesias de Madrid" Pedro F. Garcia Gutierrez / Agustín F. Martinez Carbajo edit: Avapies.
"Guia de Arquitectura Coam-tomo I". Edit. Coam

Text: Álvaro Rey
Pictures: Manuel Rey

Monday, November 19, 2012

Casa Corredor Duque de Alba-Madrid Mews part II

Built in 1925 as affordable houses and garages by the Duke of Alba (architect Antonio Ferreras Posadillo), and located in a back street to the Palacio of Liria we can find another space that reminds us of a "Mew".

Conde Duque Alleway

It is built with concrete withstands and shows an U floor. It gives access to "Las Negras" street as a sidestreet,

It is very curious the structure of galleries as a "corrala" . The outside brick with small paired windows, gives us the feeling of a nineteenth century industrial building

Front Street "Las Negras" Street

The location of this corrala, between the wall of the Palace of Liria, and the alleway of Conde Duque, in a hill and under the impressive wall of headquarters, gives us the feeling of a hidden, mysterious and forgotten place, similar of the alleyway of a city factory in the industrial revolution.

Conde Duque Sidestreet. On the left, Headquarter Wall

Conde Duque Sidestreet

As a curiosity, in the front of the alleyway, the one that is located close to the Conde Duque Headquarters, we can see impacts of bullet projectiles of war due to its proximity.

For more information:

Arquitectura de Madrid: Tomo I.Casco histórico. Coam.

Ficha disponible en la página del Colegio de Arquitecos de Madrid:

http://212.145.146.10/biblioteca/fondos/ingra/index.htm

Text: Álvaro Rey

Pictures: Manuel Rey/Álvaro Rey

Saturday, October 6, 2012

PASAJE MUTUALIDAD - MUTUALIDAD ARCADE

1952 - 1955 Architects: Manuel Muñoz Monasterio / Manuel Manzano Monis Manzebo

The passage mutuality is a singular space, a rare jewel out of his time, in addition to being endangered.
This is a beautiful shopping arcade built out of time. The "arcades" born in France in the eighteenth century and were building during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Madrid had several of those, of which very few remain .

This place born in an unusual time (50´s) and their forms are very different from the usual.It was built by the Montepio Nacional de Previsión Social de los Productores de la Dependencia Mercantil (an insurance company) . It was called: ”Pasaje Mutualidad" ("Mutualidad Arcade”).It is a most advanced aesthetic Spanish architecture of the 50s. It is divided into a large shopping area on the ground floor and offices on the rest, with a central square with plant cover V.

It seems the new materials available at the time, as cover glass block and tile reliefs on black stone.

The set of curves in the walls, as the great central panel in contrast to rectilinear geometries expressionist elements create an original space and disconcerting, with the addition of the mysterious atmosphere.

The vanguard showcases contrast with the classic streetlights. Modern materials with expressionistic curves, sometimes reminding the '20s and art deco.

The gallery has two entrances, in Fuencarral street, and othe in Corredera alta de San Pablo street, each with a different treatment. Fuencarral facade has two different volumes (with different materials).Vertical tower with balconies and a horizontal grid of stone.

Corredera Alta de san Pablo street facade

Fuencarral street facade

This is a space with disappearing risk.Only open thanks when "Relojeria Monge" is open, who clean and kept in good condition the gallery. When is open, the "Mutualidad Arcade is a passage between the two streets.

We hope this unique space survive.

For more information:

-Arquitectura de Madrid. Tomo 2 .Casco histórico. Edit: fundación COAM. (2003)

- Los pasajes comerciales de Madrid (2011).Carmen del Moral Ruiz, Edit:

text: Álvaro Rey

Photos: Manuel y Álvaro Rey