Calle de Alejandro González

The street takes its name from an Alejandro González whose identity cannot be confirmed by accessible documentary sources. The most cited candidate is Alejandro González Velázquez (Madrid, 1719–1772), painter and architect of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, though no authoritative source explicitly links that person to this street.

Along the western edge of the Fuente del Berro district runs calle de Alejandro González. The ground has a history of its own: before the houses, the Quinta de la Fuente del Berro stood here, developed from 1925 as the Colonias Iturbe. At number 12 rises the building that draws the most eyes, the Santa Susana School with the church of San Patricio, born of a will: a widow arrived from Cuba arranged for part of the Quinta del Espíritu Santo to pass to the Sisters of Charity. The street most likely recalls Alejandro González Velázquez, a Madrid painter and architect of the late Baroque (1719-1772). He left work in the Salesas Reales and the Descalzas Reales, and within the Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando he climbed the ranks to director of perspective in 1766. It would fit the Ensanche custom of honouring artists tied to the city, except that no document confirms it. The name might just as well come from a simple property owner in the neighbourhood, common enough in the minor streets of this area.

Sources (5)