Calle de Larra

Chueca·Justicia

The street is named after Mariano José de Larra y Sánchez de Castro (Madrid, 1809-1837), Romantic writer and journalist known by the pen name Fígaro. The name was fixed on 1 January 1875, after an administrative tangle in which two different streets shared the name Juan de Urbieta; on resolving it, the City Council assigned Larra to the street running between Barceló and Sagasta.

It opened around 1863 over the old municipal snow wells and nearly caused trouble: it was first named Juan de Urbieta, until, by oversight, another street in Retiro got the same name. The muddle was settled on 1 January 1875, when this one became Larra. The street smells of printer’s ink. At number 14 a Modernist building rose in 1908 with ceramic panels by Daniel Zuloaga; from there came El Sol, La Voz, Arriba, Marca and the Diario Madrid, shut down by the authorities in 1971. Today it is shared by the Fundación Diario Madrid and the European Institute of Design. The surprise for the tourist: Larra never lived here. He took his own life in 1837 on Calle de Santa Clara, and the name is a posthumous tribute. There were illustrious neighbors: Manuel Machado in the early 20th century, Luis García Montero in recent years.

Its names

  • Calle de Juan de Urbieta1862-01-01 / 1875-01-01
  • Calle de Larra (primera asignación, provisional)1875-01-01 / 1875-04-09
  • Calle de Larra1875-04-09 / actualidad
Sources (8)

Crossings