Edificio Gonzalo Mejía

The Edificio Gonzalo Mejía was an art nouveau hotel, theatre, and commercial building in Medellín, Colombia standing from 1924 to 1967. Designed by the Belgian architect Agustín Goovaerts in 1922, the building contained the Hotel Europa and a theatre dedicated to showing movies along with other commercial clients. The building has been considered as one of the finest works of architecture built in Colombia during the 1920s.[1] In 1967, the building was demolished and replaced by the Coltejer Building, the tallest in Medellín.

Gonzalo Mejía Building
Edificio Gonzalo Mejía
A view of the Carrera Junín in 1923. The Edificio Gonzalo Mejía is located on the right
General information
Typecommercial, hotel, theatre
Architectural styleArt nouveau
Town or cityMedellín
CountryColombia
Groundbreaking1922
Opened1924
Closed5 October 1967
Demolished1967-1968
Technical details
Floor count4
Design and construction
Architect(s)Agustín Goovaerts

History

Local businessman Gonzalo Mejía developed the building starting in 1922, wanting to bring a luxury hotel and theatre to the town. The building replaced the Casa de los Jaramillo.[2]

The building opened in 1924 on the corner of Junín and La Playa streets, close to other important Medellín meeting places, including the Union Club and the Astor Tea Room.[3][4] The building's occupants included the Hotel Europa and the Salon Regina, and at opening was considered the finest art nouveau building in the region.[2][5] The Junín Theatre, located in the building, included more than 4,000 seats.[6]

By the 1940s, the opening of the Hotel Nutibara had cut into the Hotel Europa's business, and the theatre showed signs of decline. The Junín theatre closed in October 1967 after a showing of the movie Arizona Colt, with demolition proceeding a week later.[3] In spite of its architectural importance, the building's demolition did not attract any controversy, with the journalist Miguel Zapata Restrepo writing on the eve of its demolition, "the Junín [theatre] has completed its work..."[2][6]

Due in part to the building's valuable central location, it was replaced by the Coltejer Building, the tallest building in Medellín, in 1972.[2]

References
  1. Molina, Luis Fernando (2001). Fotografía de arquitectura en Medellín, 1870-1960 (in Spanish). Editorial Universidad de Antioquia.
  2. "Medellín años veinte se vistió de cóctel". 19 May 2020.
  3. Juan Carlos Pérgolis Valsecchi; Estefanía Quijano Gómez (30 November 2020). "Memoria, Patrimonio, Consumo y Olvido". Procesos Urbanos (in Spanish). 7 (2). doi:10.21892/2422085X.510. S2CID 230632937.
  4. Mercedes Lucia Velez White. "Agustín Goovaerts y la Arquitectura en Medellín" (PDF).
  5. "Pasaje Junín".
  6. Spitaletta, Reinaldo (29 November 2019). "Los disparos de Arizona Colt". El Mundo.

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