The modernista Gran Hotel in Cartagena

In 1916, the Gran Hotel in Cartagena opened its doors as a significant modernista building. The project was commissioned by the mining businessman and merchant Celestino Martínez Vidal to architect Tomás Rico Valarino. While construction began in 1907, the death of Martínez Vidal in 1911 caused a considerable delay as his children clarified the inheritance. Víctor Beltrí eventually took over the direction of the works from the mezzanine level onward.

During the period between 1936 and 1939, the building was expropriated and converted into the headquarters of the Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas and the Milicias. Later, in November 1976, the College of Architects of Valencia and Murcia expressed opposition to a proposal to demolish the building for a new structure. This led to a declaration process that resulted in the building being designated a monument of cultural interest in June 2012.

Today, the building serves as an office building while maintaining its historical integrity. The original facade, the main staircase with its ironwork, and the original rolled steel structure remain intact. The exterior features brick and artificial stone, with decorative motifs inspired by French and Viennese modernism, and is topped by a zinc dome on the corner of the top floor.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons