A bit of history…
Recently, the old Aladrén Jewelry Store, a historic building on Alfonso Street, reopened its doors converted into Café 1885, thanks to the restoration work promoted by Mr. Santiago Baselga and carried out by Cronotopos Arquitectura with a team of dozens of professionals. The Gran Café Zaragoza was the last service of this location, closing its doors in October 2020.
Cronotopos is always committed to the recovery of heritage. For this reason, an exhaustive collection of information on the history of jewelry was carried out.
Heraldo de Aragón Archive
Café 1885 is an emblematic establishment built in 1885 at 25 Alfonso Street, just 20 years after the opening of this street in the old part of the city, following the eclectic and historicist style typical of the end of the 19th century. XIX. The project was designed by architect Luis Aladrén and presented by his brother Alberto to the owner of the building, Mariano Baselga, who wanted to inaugurate here a luxury store in keeping with the new bourgeoisie installed in the area. It is curious how Luis Aladrén commissioned the ornamentation of the jewelry to a group of master decorators from Vienna, who based their work on a German Renaissance language still preserved today.
All the works have been made with the idea of recovering the essence of jewelry.
The characteristic façade of the establishment has a chamfered façade with four glazed displays, framed by rectangular panels decorated with embossed and gilded silver panels with plant motifs. On the façade, according to plans from architect Luis Aladrén’s archive, we can see the secondary access on Contamina Street, which we rehabilitated. In addition, we worked on the recovery of all the original materiality, such as marble or decorative handcrafted reliefs, which were hidden under a multitude of layers of paint. The door is also glazed and is topped by an entablature and a small curved pediment.
Other examples of the recovery of characteristic elements are the clock and the lantern on the façade, which gave character to the large metal canopy made of cast iron and glass. This canopy allows filtering the strong light of Zaragoza, which, in conjunction with the ceilings, marble and coffered ceilings, generates a golden aura that envelops the entire facade of Café 1885.
Despite the clear art deco style, classic elements have been combined with modern materials.
Inside, the building has a rectangular floor plan and is divided into three rooms, currently adapted to its new use as a cafeteria. In the old days, one was the store itself, the largest and covered by an acasetoned roof supported by iron columns, another was the owner’s office and another was the back room or Salita de Luis XVI, so called because of its ornate decoration. It is worth mentioning the great work of recovery of the Louis XVI Hall, which was in a terrible state after years of despoilment and poor maintenance. In addition, the central arch that presided over the main hall of the jewelry store, which was moved during subsequent renovations, has been repositioned.
After 9 months of work, at Cronotopos we are thrilled with the results, but, above all, with the reception of the project by all the people of Zaragoza. We hope that the place recovers its former splendor, that it becomes a reference for the city and that it ceases to be that jewel in the memory.
Written by Miguel Barriendos, published by Cronotopos