of the place. In Christmas 2004 the Paseo was decorated with rows of illuminated words by artist Eva Lootz. They were light in slow waves and were situated in each traffic lane. Buildings along the East side of the Paseo (even numbers) The first building next to the Jardines del Descubrimiento is the Casa del Tesoro (numbers 20/22 of the boulevard), built around 1568 and occupied since 1711 by the Biblioteca Nacional (Recoletos side) and the National Archeological Museum (Serrano street side). In number 10 lies the Marqués de Salamanca Palace, built between 1846 and 1855 by architect Narciso Pascual y Colomer in a Renaissance style. The Marquis sold it in 1876 to the Banco Hipotecario, which installed its headquarters in it and enlarged it in 1905, 1919 and 1945/1948 with two new pavilions and two lateral wings. In 1991 it was acquired by Banco Argentaria and it currently houses the BBVA Foundation. Right next to the Plaza Cibeles (in Recoletos, 2) lies the Marqués de Linares Palace (Palacio de Linares), built in 1873 by architect Carlos Colubí. In that terrain had stood since the 17th century the Pósito de la Villa, a big cereal warehouse with reserves to be used in times of shortage. During the 20th century it was sold to the Transmediterranean Company and later to the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks. In 1976 it was declared "Historical-Artistic Monument", saving it from ruin and speculation. In 1989 it was sold by magnate Emiliano Revilla for 3,6 million Euro to the Instituto de Cooperación Hispanoamericana, the Town Hall and Madrid Autonomous Community to rehabilitate it (on a budget of more than 12 million Euro) and establish the Casa de América on it, where it currently resides. Buildings along the West side of the Paseo (odd numbers) In Recoletos (number 3) and right in front of the Palacio de Linares lies a six-storey office building built in 1975 and renovated in 2000 bought in July 2006 by Grupo Ballester. Numbers 7 and 9 consist of a building owned by magnate Alicia Koplowitz that currently houses the British Consul General among others. Next to it stands the Convent of San Pascual (or San Pascual Bailón), founded in 1683 by the Admiral of Castile, Juan Gaspar Enríquez de Cabrera for the Franciscan order of San Pedro de Alcántara. In 1836 during the Desamortización of Mendizábal the convent was transformed into a