The building
The National Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid has it's headquarters in the Arts and Industry Palace. The building began to build in 1882, in the Altos del Hipódromo under the direction of the architect Fernando de la Torriente, assisted by Emilio Boix y Merino, who, on the death of the former, continued the work in 1886.
The builder was Federico Villalba, but a few months later, it applied for authorisation to transfer the rights to a foreign company, the Société Anonyme Internationale de Construction et des Contrats Publics de Braine le Comte, Belgium, which meant that many materials were imported from Belgium.
The building is a brick and iron structure, with cast iron columns, metal joist floors and Polonceau system roof trusses. It was ornamented with ceramic motifs, which have almost disappeared, as have the original steel joinery.
In May 21st, 1887, it was inagurated the first National Exhibition of Fine Arts by the queen regent, Maria Cristina. In this date, the windows were partly blinded, to prevent damage to the exposed paintings from overhead lighting. The last National Exhibition of Fine Arts was celebrated in 1899. Since 1903, the building was abandoned until the transfers of the Entomology section of the Museum (1906) and in 1907 of the School of Industrial Engineers.
The manager of the Museum in that time, Ignacio Bolívar y Urrutia, obtained from the Public Instruction Ministry the granting of new premises for the Museum's collections, which were piling up on the premises of the Palace of the Library and National Museums
The adaptation works for the National Museum of Natural Sciences were carried out between 1909 and 1910, which was installed on the north façade, to the left of the main façade and the right wing of the rear façade. For a time, other organisations coexisted with the Museum and the School of Engineers: The Costume Museum, the Civil Guard Barracks and the ‘Torres Quevedo’ Institute.
In 1932, plans were drawn up for the construction of the Higher Schools of Forestry and Industry in the University City, but only the School of Forestry was moved to the campus. Very little remains of the original conception of the Exhibition Hall as a free-standing building in the middle of gardens, as buildings have been added around it. Nevertheless, the Museum has promoted the creation of a Mediterranean Garden with botanical species typical of this region, many of which are present in the Community of Madrid.
Continue discovering the history of the MNCN
Foundation and first era (1771-1814)