Metropolis Building - Madrid, Spain
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 40° 25.130 W 003° 41.832
30T E 440852 N 4474478
The Metropolis Building is a beautiful Beaux Art flatiron office building. It is located at at Calle de Alcalá 39, Madrid, Spain.
Waymark Code: WMVDRV
Location: Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
Date Posted: 04/06/2017
Views: 10
The Metropolis Building (Edificio Metrópolis) is an office building in Madrid, Spain, at Calle de Alcalá 39 at the intersection of Gran Vía. Construction started in 1907 and was completed in 1911. It was designed by Jules and Raymond Février for the insurance company La Unión y el Fénix. It is now owned by Metrópolis Seguros.
In 1972, Metrópolis Seguros acquired the building but not the original statue atop the dome. When the building changed hands the previous owner decided to take the original statue of the mythological Phoenix and Ganymede sitting on its wing. It's now in the gardens around the Mutua Madrileña building, Paseo de la Castellana nr 33.
A great deal of effort was made to restore this landmark building. In 1988, the facade was fully cleaned, together with the roof, basements and central courtyard. In November 1995, the windows of the main staircase were restored. In 1996, the facade and sculptures were restored and the tower covered with 30000 leaves of 24K gold.
Visit Instructions:
Please provide another photo of the location. You don't have to be in there shot, but you can. The photo requirement is to discourage any armchair visiting.