Café de Fornos
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The Café de Fornos (from 1909 Gran Café ) was a Madrid literary and artist café that acquired the character of a cultural institution, especially through its tertulias .
The café was on the corner of Calle Alcalá and Calle de la Vírgen de los Peligros. It opened on July 21, 1870 and existed for 38 years. It was luxuriously furnished in the Louis seize style. It was named after its owner José Manuel Fornos, who also owned the Madrid Café Europeo .
Works by the painters José María Fenollera Ibáñez (1851–1918), Emilio Sala Francés (1850–1910), José Vallejo , Ignacio Zuloaga y Zabaleta (1870–1945), Antonio Gomar y Gomar (1853–1911), Joaquín Araújo Ruano (1851 –1894), Juan Francés y Mexías and Enrique Mélida (1838–1892) adorned the walls of the café over the years. After the death of the first owner, his sons took over the inheritance in 1875. A renovation from 1879 included a ventilation system and wall paintings.
Azorín and Pío Baroja were among the regulars, including Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo . The café was said to have a “double life”: a serious café and luxury restaurant during the day, a place for discussion and encounter at night.
The downfall of the establishment began with the suicide of Manuel Fornos Colín, one of the owners, who shot himself a cartridge in the head on July 13, 1904 in one of the extra rooms. The pub was increasingly frequented by prostitutes at night and closed on August 26, 1908.
The reopening in May 1909 as Gran Café with the new owner Marcelino raba de la Torre brought a certain degree of continuity. The Gran Café existed until 1918, but then became the Fornos Palace as a cabaret with gaming tables. The rebuilding by a bank in the 1930s meant the definitive end of the café.
Coordinates: 40 ° 25 ′ 4.7 " N , 3 ° 41 ′ 58.3" W.