Calle del Prado

Barrio de las Letras·Cortes

Two versions for the name. Tradition links it to the nearness of the old prado (meadow) of San Jerónimo, today the Paseo del Prado; the documentary trail points to Francisco de Prado, a theater commissioner living there in the late 16th century.

The calle del Prado runs down from la del Príncipe to the Cortes, carrying an old doubt about its name. The most repeated explanation looks to the land: the meadow of San Jerónimo lay nearby. Another points to Francisco de Prado, a theater commissioner appointed in 1579, who lived on this very street. Neither has displaced the other. Here stood the actors' gossip corner, where players and playwrights closed contracts and traded rumors. And since 1884 the Ateneo de Madrid has stood on the street.

Its names

  • Camino (sin nombre de calle)antes de h.1579
  • Calle del Pradoh.1579–presente
Sources (7)