Teatro María Guerrero

In calle de Tamayo y Baus, 4, is one of the most beautiful nineteenth-century theatres: the María Guerrero. It opened in 1885 and was then called Teatro de La Princesa. The people of Madrid considered it to be too far from the centre and during the first seasons they resisted going there, to the serious detriment of the companies. It was the work of the architect Agustín Ortiz de Villajos, who designed it with an ornate Arab-inspired decoration. In the 20th century it was bought by the couple Fernando Díaz de Mendoza-María Guerrero. In the end it had to be sold to the State shortly after the proclamation of the Second Republic. It was then decided to change its name to María Guerrero. The actress had died in 1928. It was closed to the public and devoted itself to teaching drama. It would raise its curtain again shortly after the end of the Civil War as the main venue for the National Theatres. Since 1978 it has been the headquarters of the Centro Dramático Nacional.

Text and photos by Antonio Castro Jiménez, Chronicler of the City of Madrid.