Calle de Colmenares

Calle de Colmenares was born on private land, at the hand of Segundo Colmenares, one of the busiest entertainment impresarios of Isabelline Madrid. He ran the Teatro del Circo on Plaza del Rey, and in 1840 brought the equestrian performer Paul Laribeau to Madrid, promising him a larger venue. That circus stood on the plot next to the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas, owned by the Counts of Polentinos, who by chance also bore the Colmenares surname. The two families were unrelated, though sharing a name and a district has confused them more than once. The theatre burned down in 1876, and on its ruins rose the Circo Price, opened in 1880. The street links Calle de las Infantas with Calle de San Marcos, in the Justicia district. It was opened from scratch on private ground, a frequent practice in the inner expansion of 1880s Madrid, and had no earlier name.