A classic saying is that there is no such thing as a power vacuum, because someone always comes along to occupy it. Well, the same thing happens with vehicles: the space they see, the space they take up. This has been happening since time immemorial, and as an example we can cite what can be considered the first “parking lot” in Madrid, located in the Plaza de los Carros. Turns out this place is very close to Mercado de la Cebada. Even before this existed, since the 16th century, there were open-air stalls, and many products coming from the province and entering the city through Puerta de Toledo, ended up in these stalls. Then a brother was built there, based on the plans of the architect Mariano Calvo y Pereira and who used iron in his very unique structures. This market was demolished in 1956 and replaced by another that we still know. The fact is that for many, many years, goods were abundant in Cebada. And so there were also vehicles that transported and brought the goods. At the beginning of the last century, this task was mainly carried out in cars. There were many of them and they had to stop somewhere, which was usually the square located next to the Mercado de la Cebada, and which was already known, perhaps for this reason, as the Plaza de los Carros. This can be seen in the photograph which illustrates this chronicle, where the vehicles appear, perfectly ordered, occupying practically the entire width of the square. Related News Standard Yes Balloons from a tourist promotion in Madrid that were mistaken for UFOs in Manhattan Sara Medialdea. Never has an institutional support action for the capital as a tourist destination had such an impact. The Plaza de los Carros existed long before, next to San Francisco Street and the San Andrés promenade: it does not appear on the map. of Texeira, from 1656, but in that of Antonio Espinosa de los Monteros, from 1769, although without a defined name. Over the years, it took different names: Plaza de Aguirre around 1868, or Plaza de Julio Romero de Torres in 1931. Around 1965, it regained its traditional name, the one that gave it its usefulness. During the time when Enrique Tierno Galván was mayor, the area was remodeled and some archaeological remains were discovered, including fragments of the canvas of the Arab wall or a Muslim nautical excursion. madrid_dia_0703In the Plaza de los Carros, not only were these means of transport stationed in the 19th and part of the 20th centuries, but their services were also rented there. Some authors point out that passenger carts also stopped there, especially those heading towards Toledo. On one of the facades of the square you can see the original trompe l’oeil figures painted by the artist Alberto Pirongelli, which reflect, in false windows, many other neighbors watching, as if attentive to people passing through the square. MORE INFORMATION The mystery of Madrid 5,000 years ago Madrid’s unique “beach”. in Rosales, star of the summer of the 1920s. Next to them, to the north is the Church of San Andrés, with a very beautiful interior, and next to it is the Museum of San Isidro. The square has two fountains: an octagonal one in the center, and a little further south, another mural, with a main spout surrounded by seven others. And the latter, which was placed there during the renovation of the square in the 20th century, would occupy the location which formerly housed the so-called Humilladero fountain of San Francisco, which other authors call the Endymion, a sculpture of work Italian. from the 16th century which has been there for a long time, hanging around the Plaza de Puerta de Moros, adjoining the Plaza de los Carros.
