Four months, one million euros and a giant canvas facing Puerta del Sol. This will be the intervention to be carried out in the Real Casa de Correos, the oldest building in the busiest square in Madrid. The Community of Madrid has announced that restoration work will begin on its main façade at the end of July, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of its use as the seat of the regional government.
What exactly will be done? The refurbishment includes the revision of the ornamental elements that decorate the façade, the repair of the skirt of the interior roof and the complete renovation of the exterior roof. During the works, the main face of the building will be covered by a canvas with a printed image of the building, reminiscent of what was done to the Puerta de Alcalá during its restoration in 2022. However, the clock will remain visible and will continue to function normally.
The Governing Council has given the green light to the execution project, which will not have a major impact on pedestrians: the perimeter of the façade will be fenced off, but the occupation is not expected to severely affect the passage through the square. Despite the fact that the works coincide with the summer, the idea is to preserve the historical value of the building without hindering too much the life in Sol.
A building with a lot of history
The Real Casa de Correos is one of those places where history accumulates in layers. It was completed in 1768 by architect Jaime Marquet, after an initial failed commission to Ventura Rodríguez during the reign of Fernando VI. With the arrival of Charles III, the project passed into French hands and was executed in just two years. Since then it has been the Post Office, the General Captaincy, the Ministry of the Interior and, since 1985, the seat of the Government of the Community of Madrid.
The façade that is now being restored is the one that has seen everything: from the uprising of May 2, 1808 (there is a commemorative plaque included) to demonstrations, concerts, live broadcasts and millions of photos of tourists. Highlights include the bichromatism of red brick and white stone, the central balcony, the high relief with the coat of arms of Carlos III and, of course, the carillon clock of José Rodríguez Losada, the same one that every New Year’s Eve marks the twelve grapes.
That such a building should undergo a facelift is not anecdotal. The restoration is part of the regional government’s broader discourse on architectural heritage, and it is also an image operation: a symbolic gesture in the heart of Madrid, in the eyes of locals and visitors alike.
A square permanently shrouded in controversy
The restoration of the Real Casa de Correos coincides with another hot issue -literally- in Puerta del Sol: the installation of beige PVC awnings by the Madrid City Council to alleviate the summer heat. In total, 32 removable structures have been placed between Alcalá and Arenal streets, in an attempt to offer some shade without altering the heritage.
However, the measure has reopened the eternal debate about why there are no trees in this square. The answer is not only aesthetic: under the ground there is a concrete slab of barely 20 cm and a network of tunnels, meters and technical galleries that make it practically unfeasible to plant deep roots. And then there is the heritage issue: the Local Historical Heritage Commission already rejected in 2023 the idea of planting nine trees in the few technically free areas.