Avinguda de la Llum

Avinguda de la Llum, Catalan for “Avenue of Light,” was an underground shopping arcade in central Barcelona and is generally described as the first underground shopping centre of its kind in Europe. It occupied approximately 2,000 square metres beneath Carrer de Pelai, in the area bounded by Plaça de Catalunya, Carrer de Balmes, Carrer de Bergara and Plaça de la Universitat. The complex was located above the vaulted structure of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya station at Catalunya, between the railway infrastructure and the street level. The premises had originally been constructed in 1929 as part of a much larger urban scheme. That plan envisaged an underground city extending from Plaça d’Urquinaona to Plaça de la Universitat. Only part of the concept came to fruition, but the completed space was later adapted for commercial use. When the arcade opened in 1940, it contained a substantial collection of shops and services. At its height, the centre reportedly accommodated 68 commercial establishments, including a cinema, making it an unusual combination of retail, entertainment and subterranean urban infrastructure. The mall’s fortunes followed the changing condition of central Barcelona. From the 1960s onward, deterioration in the surrounding area contributed to a gradual decline in footfall and investment. The arcade itself became increasingly run-down. By the end of its operating life, parts of the complex were associated with homelessness and social marginalisation, and the once-ambitious commercial environment had lost much of its appeal. Avinguda de la Llum closed on 21 May 1990. Its closure formed part of a broader transformation of the area ahead of the 1992 Summer Olympics. At street level, an empty triangular space between buildings became known as the “Triangle de la vergonya,” or “Triangle of shame,” and the condition of the site helped encourage urban-renewal measures. The redevelopment eventually produced the El Triangle shopping centre. Today, the principal corridor of the former arcade lies within the underground level of a Sephora store in El Triangle, while other sections remain closed and unused. The site survives less as an operating retail brand than as a remembered piece of Barcelona’s commercial and architectural history. Avinguda de la Llum also acquired a place in popular culture. It appears in Bigas Luna’s 1978 film Bilbao, inspired the song “Avenida de la Luz” by the rock group Loquillo y los Trogloditas, and is featured in Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s novel The Labyrinth of Spirits, the fourth volume in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.

Avinguda de la Llum was created within the underground urban landscape of central Barcelona. The site was built in 1929 beneath Carrer de Pelai, between the street and the vaulted structure of the FGC Catalunya station. Its construction was connected with an ambitious proposal for an underground city running between Plaça d’Urquinaona and Plaça de la Universitat. Although the full project was never realised, the completed subterranean space provided an unusual foundation for a later commercial complex. The arcade opened in 1940 under the Catalan name Avinguda de la Llum, also rendered in Spanish as Avenida de la Luz. It was conceived as a modern underground retail environment at a time when such developments were still exceptional in Europe. The approximately 2,000-square-metre site reportedly contained 68 businesses, together with a cinema. Its mixture of shops, services and entertainment made it a destination rather than merely a passageway connected with the railway station. During the first decades of its existence, the centre benefited from its central location near Plaça de Catalunya and the surrounding commercial streets. Its position beneath a busy part of Barcelona gave it distinctive visibility and helped establish its reputation as an innovative urban space. Over time, however, the condition of the surrounding district deteriorated. From the 1960s, declining investment and broader urban problems contributed to the progressive abandonment of the arcade. By the late 1980s, Avinguda de la Llum was in a visibly deteriorated state. The site had also become associated with a large homeless population. Its decline contrasted sharply with the redevelopment ambitions that Barcelona was pursuing in preparation for the 1992 Summer Olympics. The arcade finally closed on 21 May 1990. Above it, an empty triangular area between buildings was popularly called the Triangle de la vergonya, or “Triangle of shame,” and became one of the local signs of the need for urban intervention. The subsequent redevelopment replaced the former commercial context with the El Triangle shopping centre. The main corridor of Avinguda de la Llum survives within the shopping centre’s underground floor, while other parts remain abandoned and inaccessible to the public. The physical remains therefore occupy an intermediate status: the arcade is defunct as a business, but portions of its built environment continue to be incorporated into later retail development. The former mall has had an afterlife in cultural memory. It appears in Bigas Luna’s 1978 film Bilbao, was commemorated in the Loquillo y los Trogloditas song “Avenida de la Luz,” and forms part of the fictional world of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Labyrinth of Spirits. These references reinforce its image as a mysterious, historic and partially hidden feature of Barcelona rather than as an ordinary former shopping centre.

• 1992

  Barcelona Olympic-era redevelopment

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  The surrounding area is renovated during the wider urban transformation associated with the 1992 Summer Olympics.

• 1990

  Closure

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  Avinguda de la Llum closes on 21 May after a prolonged period of commercial and physical decline.

• 1978

  Appearance in Bilbao

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  The arcade appears in Bigas Luna’s film Bilbao.

• 1940

  Avinguda de la Llum opens

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  The underground shopping arcade opens in central Barcelona, later becoming known for its pioneering European format.

• 1929

  Underground site constructed

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  The approximately 2,000-square-metre underground space beneath Carrer de Pelai was built in connection with a broader unrealised plan for an underground city.

• Incorporation into El Triangle

  [1]Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org

  The principal corridor of the former arcade becomes part of the underground level of the El Triangle shopping centre.

A pioneering subterranean urban shopping and entertainment arcade in central Barcelona, later remembered as an architectural landmark and symbol of the city’s pre-Olympic urban decline and renewal.

• Retail · 1940

  Retail shops

  The arcade housed a broad collection of commercial establishments serving visitors in central Barcelona. Sources describe 68 premises at the complex’s height, although a detailed tenant list is not established in the available reference material.

• Entertainment · 1940

  Cinema

  A cinema formed part of the arcade’s entertainment offer, helping distinguish Avinguda de la Llum from a simple underground retail passage.

• 1990

  Permanent closure after prolonged declineStrategy

  Background

  The arcade had experienced progressive abandonment and physical deterioration from the 1960s onward, while homelessness had become a prominent issue at the site.

  Action taken

  Operations ended on 21 May 1990.

  Aftermath

  The surrounding area was subsequently incorporated into Barcelona’s pre-Olympic urban-renewal programme, and the former arcade became associated with the later El Triangle shopping centre.

  Source

1. 1Avinguda de la Llumen.wikipedia.org