An Aerial View.

Calle Gil de Santivañes in the Mid-19th Century.

Alfred Guesdon painted the district...

...in question in the mid-19th century with the help of aerostatics.

The buildings of the Real Pósito ran between the bullring (the old Alcalá bullring), the calle Alcalá and the Paseo de Recoletos, whilst to the right we can see the old carriage factory. Between the Pósito and the factory we can see the Marqués de Salamanca palace, almost completed, although it would not be inaugurated for a few years yet. The area covered by the calle Gil de Santivañes today can be seen in the far right of the picture, to the north of the carriage factory.

 

Photo: Alfred Guesdon’s aerial view of Madrid. Work by Alfred Guesdon in 1854, based on photos taken from a hot air balloon. 

 

 Photo: Old print of the balloon used by A. Guesdon to obtain the image shown above facing the south-east. In the sketch, we see the Alcalá bullring drawn somewhat crudely. Guesdon did not need a drone, but the printer could have done with a French lesson or two given the spelling of the artist’s name (Goulston).