La Casa De Las Bolas

One of the most interesting looking buildings in my neighbourhood, and apparently one of the oldest, built between 1885 and 1895, it's nicknamed La Casa De Las Bolas for the large marble ball-like decorations on its towers. It actually stretches an entire block (manzana in Spanish, which also means 'apple'), and is triangular in shape, a bit like the more famous Flatiron building in New York. The distinctive style is known as neomudéjar, that was popular in the late 19th/early 20th century, using elements of arab design that serves as another reminder of Spain's long history with that culture. This complemented the nearby Plaza de Toros in Goya that was built in a similar style (closed in 1931, now the site of WiZink Sports and concert hall.

Until 2016 there was a bar called Santa Bárbara on the ground floor here, that first opened in 1947. It was a great location, on the corner between two major streets, it was also rather beautifully decorated. Perhaps it was forced to close down because of its high prices and their refusal to even give you any free crisps to snack on with your drinks (practically unheard of in Madrid, where at the very least you can expect plain crisps, and if you're lucky you're given a tapa of something more substantial - ensaladilla on bread, some chorizo, a bit of cheese etc)
At any rate, it's now become an Orange phone shop, and they ripped out all the decorative features and plastered the walls with a sickly shade of orange.