A 1929 early skyscraper on the Gran Vía — one of the first true high-rises in Europe, blending American skyscraper massing with Madrid granite to anchor the great boulevard. It served as a vantage point and target during the Spanish Civil War, when shells scarred its facade, and today its lobby hosts exhibitions. Its silhouette helped define the Gran Vía's brash, cinematic skyline. For visitors, the free exhibition space inside is a draw, and the building itself is a landmark of early 20th-century ambition — the moment Madrid reached for the sky, on its grandest street.
Location
Gran Vía, Madrid
Map
Insider Intel
The neo-baroque stone portada above the first three floors — the only surviving fragment of the abandoned baroque-skyscraper scheme, and the model for the Edificio España's entrance. At the top, the Spanish arms with the pillars and crowns removed, under a clock that lights blue after dark.
Cross to the north side of Gran Vía or view from Red de San Luis — the street is too narrow for the 89-metre elevation. The lit clock is the after-dark shot.
The building is Telefónica's corporate headquarters and closed to the public. The part you can enter is Espacio Fundación Telefónica — free, but reached from Calle Fuencarral 3, not Gran Vía, and closed Mondays. Its permanent telecommunications museum is currently shut for refurbishment.