Gran Vía (Madrid Metro)

Historia

Gran Vía is a station on Lines 1 and 5 of the Madrid Metro located underneath the Gran Vía, in the Centro neighborhood underneath the Red de San Luis plaza. It is located in fare zone A.HistoryThe Line 1 platforms were opened to the public when Metro service was inaugurated in Madrid in 1919, under the name Red de San Luis. The Gran Vía was still under construction at that time, but a year later the station adopted that name. During the dictatorship of Franco, the name was changed again to José Antonio. This reflected the renaming of the Gran Vía to José Antonio Avenue by Franco, in honor of José Antonio, founder of the fascist party Falange.In 1970, the Line 5 platforms opened under the name José Antonio. Fourteen years later, in 1984, the station returned to its previous name of Gran Vía.For many years, the station was known for the elaborate edifice that housed the elevators, built by the architect Antonio Palacios. It was constructed of polished granite with an iron and glass canopy. To use the elevator, customers had to pay a small fee. The original vestibule, also done by Palacios, was decorated with glazed tiles. When the edifice was dismantled in 1972, it was returned to O Porriño, the architect's hometown. There is currently a project underway to install a replica.