Calle de Esparteros

Calle de Esparteros runs down from calle Mayor to plaza de Santa Cruz, at the southeastern edge of the old Sol quarter. Its first recorded name marked the way up to the former parish of Santa Cruz. The story goes that some Valencians arrived at this open ground, set up their workshops and began weaving esparto grass and plaiting mats, a product the houses of the Court bought without pause. They prospered, formed a guild and placed their trade under the patronage of Saint Lucy, with a brotherhood in the nearby church of San Felipe el Real, whose side door opened right onto Esparteros. So the name of the guild and that of the street were stitched together. The esparto trade eventually withdrew, giving way to small shops of needles, buttons and hardware. At number 3, the Gaceta Musical de Madrid was founded in 1855, directed by Hilarión Eslava.