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Proud of its history, the main book chain in Spain celebrates its first centenary serving readers with different activities and events in 2023.
It was baptized as the Palacio del Libro (The Palace of the Bookl) when it opened its doors on April 15, 1923 at number 29 of Madrid's Gran Vía, as Pi y Margall, but that initial name was changed in November due to "annoying confusion with other establishments.” It was renamed, definitively, Casa del Libro.
Its birth was the result of the decision of the Calpe publishing house, directed by Nicolás María de Urgoiti, to have its own bookstore. To do this, in 1919 he acquired a plot of land in the second section of the early Gran Vía where he constructed a building that was to become a book circulation center.
Following the plans of José Yarnoz Larrosa, and after several years of work, from 1920 to 1923, the building, which is still in existence today, was inaugurated.
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