the distinguishing elements of the surroundings was the installation of the Fountain of Cybele in 1794, designed by Ventura Rodríguez. The Plaza de Cibeles was originally called Plaza de Madrid, which was renamed as the Plaza de Castelar. The gardens of the Buen Retiro stretched to the Paseo del Prado. The so-called gardens of San Juan seemed to be the site for the construction of the new building. The architect José Grases Riera had previously carried out studies for the remodelling of the area and had one of them published. The unveilings of the gardens of the Buen Retiro in 1876 and the Hipódromo de la Castellana two years later led to the traffic moving to the junction of the Calle de Alcalá and the Paseo del Prado. This led to the disappearance of the Real Pósito and the construction of the Palacio de Linares between 1873 and 1900. The Alcañices Palace or the Duke of Sexto were demolished to make way for the building of the Bank of Spain. On 4 April 1910 the works commenced to demolish and build the north–south road axis of Gran Vía. This new larger road axis aimed to displace the role of the east–west axis featuring the roads Mayor-Alcalá, which had previously been predicted by architect Silvestre Pérez in 1810, during the Bonapartist reign. The building: a long process The building took twelve years to complete. During this time, it was subjected to delays, superstitions, and various disputes. The project was approved in 1905 with construction commencing in 1907. The official opening was in 1919. After the approval of the design, the construction was interrupted and slowed down for a few years due to resistance and political struggles in the period. There were political instability and interests at that time that gave rise to the transfer of municipal sites. The Chamber of Commerce in Madrid requested cancellation of the project and called for a new competition. The construction came to a halt for two years during the time the Liberal Party was in government. The construction processes for the new post office began with the arrival of the Conservative Party. During these processes, J. Otamendi tackled two other projects in the capital. In 1908 he began the Hospital of Maudes in the neighbourhood of Cuatro Caminos and in 1910 the headquarters for the Banco Español del Río de la Plata in the neighbourhood