La Pedrera through time

 
1909
The mural paintings of La Pedrera

The construction of Casa Milà

The mural paintings of La Pedrera

Satire

The unknown shutter

Aleix Clapés and the artwork of the “Gache Apartment” in the Casa Milà.

La Pedrera in advertising

El Cafè de La Pedrera 100 years ago

Paco Abadal and Mercedes Durán: the first tenants in the Casa Milà- La Pedrera

The Gràcia Archive in La Pedrera

A harem in La Pedrera

An enigma of love in La Pedrera

My name is Pilar Paulí, and I was born on 18 October 1926 in La Pedrera

The missing plaster ceiling

Ministerial Gaudí

La Pedrera in the Movies. The Unknown Man of Shandigor

Ramon Manent’s La Pedrera

The “La Pedrera” Flea Market

A Student at La Pedrera

The ‘80s, Gaudí and La Pedrera

1900
2000
2100
1940
1980
1910
1920
1930
1950
1960
1970
1990

Featured contributions

1976
Author: unknown. Shopping centre inside Casa Milà. Barcelona, ca.1976. Collection: Col·leccions. Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya.
Author: unknown. Shopping centre inside Casa Milà. Barcelona, ca.1976. Collection: Col·leccions. Arxiu Històric del Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya.

The “La Pedrera” Flea Market

At the end of 1975, construction work was carried out to set up the space of the underground access ramp and part of the garage as a shopping centre: Mercadillo (flea market) or Pedrera Market . These are the two names of this establishment that alternate in the documents of the Barcelona City... « Read more »
1967
L'Inconnu de Shandigor. Sylvaine and Manuel in the rooftop of La Pedrera.
L'Inconnu de Shandigor. Sylvaine and Manuel in the rooftop of La Pedrera.

La Pedrera in the Movies. The Unknown Man of Shandigor

La Pedrera has been used as a setting in more than fifteen films , including Gaudí (Josep Maria Argemí, 1960), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, 2008), Rastros de sándalo (Maria Ripoll, 2014), The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975), starring Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider, and... « Read more »
1927
© ANC/Fons Joaquim Gomis

The missing plaster ceiling

The main floor of La Pedrera, which has housed the Foundation’s exhibition hall since 1992, was originally the residence of the Milàs. The floor retains little of Gaudí’s décor because Roser Segimon, Mr Milà’s wife, had most of it changed after the architect’s death in 1926. However, we can still... « Read more »
1920
Grandfather Ninus Baladia on the balcony of La Pedrera apartment in 1920. The photo was taken by my grandmother when they were courting. Although my grandfather is wearing a dressing gown, he did not live there. They were a modern couple, and he lived with her family at the Llorach property, in Sant Gervasi. © Archivo Baladia
Grandfather Ninus Baladia on the balcony of La Pedrera apartment in 1920. The photo was taken by my grandmother when they were courting. Although my grandfather is wearing a dressing gown, he did not live there. They were a modern couple, and he lived with her family at the Llorach property, in Sant Gervasi. © Archivo Baladia

An enigma of love in La Pedrera

In 1906 the architect Antoni Gaudí watched as the foundations were laid on the site that would eventually become home to the icon of Modernisme , the Casa Milà, (La Pedrera), in Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia. That same year, the celebrated Catalan writer Eugeni d'Ors’ published his first glosses in... « Read more »
1918
La Vanguardia, 28 October 1918, reports of the Prince Ibrahim Hassan.
La Vanguardia, 28 October 1918, reports of the Prince Ibrahim Hassan.

A harem in La Pedrera

On Monday 28 October 1918, Egyptian Prince Ibrahim Hassan (Cairo, 1879 – Barcelona, 1918) died at his home in La Pedrera, No. 92 Paseo de Gracia. The prince, nephew of the Sultan of Egypt and grandson of Khedive [1] Ismail Pasha, had long resided in Barcelona as the report in La Vanguardia the 28... « Read more »
1915
Casa Milà, 1915. Josep Maria Madurell i Marimón, Col·lecció Club Excursionista de Gràcia © Ajuntament de Barcelona, Arxiu Municipal Districte de Gràcia
Casa Milà, 1915. Josep Maria Madurell i Marimón, Col·lecció Club Excursionista de Gràcia © Ajuntament de Barcelona, Arxiu Municipal Districte de Gràcia

The Gràcia Archive in La Pedrera

These hitherto unpublished photographs of La Pedrera have been brought to our notice by the Municipal Archive of the District of Gràcia, which has holdings and collections from institutions, associations and private collections relating to the district’s documentary heritage. The two pictures by... « Read more »
1912
La Vanguardia. 19 April 1916
La Vanguardia. 19 April 1916

El Cafè de La Pedrera 100 years ago

The following story is a good example of Gaudí’s famous saying, that that originality consists of returning to the origin. We have long wondered to what purpose the mezzanine floor was put before the Mosella tailors set up shop there. We have now found a document confirming that this space on the... « Read more »
1911
Aleix Clapés and the artwork of the “Gache Apartment” in the Casa Milà.
Aleix Clapés and the artwork of the “Gache Apartment” in the Casa Milà.

Aleix Clapés and the artwork of the “Gache Apartment” in the Casa Milà.

Alberto I. Gache (Mercedes, Buenos Aires, 1854 – Montevideo, 1933), Consul of the Republic of Argentina in Barcelona, resided on the first floor, second door, of the Casa Milà from 5 August 1911 to late 1919. On 26 September 2014, a visit and a talk were organised at La Pedrera to acquaint the... « Read more »
1910
El Diluvio. Suplemento Ilustrado . 5 March 1910
El Diluvio. Suplemento Ilustrado . 5 March 1910

Satire

The unique structure that is the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) and the relationship between the building’s architect (Antoni Gaudí) and its owner (Pere Milà) became the object of ridicule for the people of Barcelona and many humorous publications of the time. These three illustrations of the Casa Milà, by... « Read more »
1910
The unknown shutter
Album d’architecture moderne à Barcelone: Collection de 70 planches. Barcelona, 1911

The unknown shutter

La Pedrera conceals secrets for almost 100 years: the undiscovered shutter Above each entrance to the building there is a shutter housing and a piece of metal projecting outwards. These are the guides and mechanisms to operate what were one corrugated rolling shutters. Given their lack of artistic... « Read more »
1909
Vestibule of passeig de Gràcia. La Pedrera © Triangle Postals. Pere Vivas
Vestibule of Passeig de Gràcia. La Pedrera © Triangle Postals. Pere Vivas

The mural paintings of La Pedrera

The god Pan playing the panpipe, a garden, the Deadly Sins , bouquets of flowers, the god Vertumnus disguised in an attempt to seduce the goddess Pomona , a feast, a sun , an eagle , and even a shipwreck – these are just some of the scenes featured in the mural paintings in the vestibules of La... « Read more »
1907
Journal Ilustració Catalana, 8 December 1907
Journal Ilustració Catalana, 8 December 1907

The construction of Casa Milà

Having submitted his building plans in order to obtain planning permission from Barcelona City hall, Antoni Gaudí began work on the Casa Milà on 2 February 1906. Shown below are two illustrative examples of the immense interest sparked by the construction of the edifice. The first one comes from... « Read more »