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Located on the corner of Calle Alcalá and Gran Vía, this emblematic building, one of the symbols of the area, was designed in 1905 by the French architects, Jules and Raymond Février to house the La Unión and Fénix insurance company, although the final work was carried out by Luis Esteve from Spain.

The Metrópolis Building is one of the main icons of the Gran Vía, featuring in thousands of tourist snapshots who photograph the view of this avenue from Plaza de Cibeles. Built on the site of the “casa del ataúd” (tomb house), so called by locals because of its narrow frontage, it was constructed between 1907 and 1910 as the first stretch of the Gran Vía was being created, and it was officially opened on 25 January 1911.

This sumptuous construction presides over the beginning of the Gran Vía with its neo-renaissance façade of Corinthian columns and a slate dome with golden incrustations, on which a statue of Victoria rises, which used to be a  Phoenix, symbol of the insurance company that initially occupied the building.