Círculo Mercantil

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Cultural spaces · Subcategory: Institutions · Year: 1932-1943 · Authors: José Enrique Marrero Regalado

The Union of Merchants, Industrialists and Farmers of the Island of Tenerife was founded around 1890 under the name Círculo de la Unión Mercantil y Agrícola de Tenerife, initially occupying number 90 Calle del Castillo. With the aim of supporting and welcoming the agricultural and industrial class, it was from the outset a centre of debate with a very active dynamic, both in the economic-commercial sphere and in the recreational and cultural, with the first film screenings held in its halls around 1896, and the first sounds of a phonograph in the city three years later.

In 1927, as the society grew, the need to build a new headquarters that matched the social status of its role became evident. In 1931 the intention to build the new social building on a plot located in Plaza de La Candelaria was announced.

The mayor Santiago García Sanabria informed the architect Marrero Regalado in 1932 of the institution's interest in him drawing up the new project for the building. The technician proposed a five-storey building, with commercial premises on the ground floor, a noble floor for the social headquarters and the rest of the areas intended for offices and spaces for companies and commercial entities. Marrero took great care and produced one of his best works, knowing it was to be erected in one of the most significant points of the city.

The building is resolved in beaux-arts language with Art Deco decorative elements, very much to the taste of the time. The tower and the composition of the façade were part of a detailed study of the urban environment, taking into account the presence of the Casino building opposite and the old Hotel Orotava, which closed the square at its lower side.

Locally, the construction system used for this work was an important contribution for its time, given the use of a general iron framework filled with clay or cement brick.

Construction work on the building began in 1933 and lasted for a decade.

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