EL CASINO MAS LUJOSO DE EUROPA ESTABA EN EL COLLSEROLA

@Barcelona Memory You can share our videos:    / barceloname.  . If you would like to contribute a small amount to help maintain the canal: https://es.tipeee.com/barcelona-memory. The Collserola mountain range was, as it is today, the great lung of Barcelona, ​​the ideal place to isolate with the family during the frequent epidemics that ravaged the city. Many merchants and bourgeoisie established their second homes on its slopes. This is how residential areas like Vista Roca emerged, near Can Cortés, in the Sant Cugat del Vallés area. One of the area's owners was Josep Sabadell, the main character in our story: Sabadell was president of the Catalan Employers' Confederation and one of the last mayors of Gràcia before its annexation to Barcelona (1893). His main residence was here, on what is now Avenida Meridiana. With the construction of the Rabassada road (1877) and the Tibidabo Amusement Park (1900), the area was a "sweet spot" for any forward-thinking investor. Josep Sabadell partnered with Miquel Montané, the then-renowned restaurant entrepreneur and owner of the Gran Café Restaurante Alhambra (1891) at 25 Passeig de Gràcia, the widest in the city. They bought the inn "Casa de Comidas La Rabassada," which had previously been known as Can Manela and later as Restaurant El Rabassalet. It was located next to the sulfurous spring "La Rabassada." They wanted to remodel it and turn it into a luxury hotel with a restaurant: the Gran Hotel Rabassada, which opened in 1899. The artist and architect Edmond Lechevallier had been entrusted with the design, and about a hundred meters away, an exclusive private club was opened where the Catalan and foreign bourgeoisie settled in the city could discuss business in the heart of nature: the "Foreigners' Circle." Miquel Montané left the management of the hotel to Joan Jubert to focus on a key issue for the future complex: connecting Can Gomis, at the foot of Tibidabo, with the Vista Roca development in Sant Cugat via a tramway. He obtained the concession in 1910 and operated the line with a French company, "Boursier & Escartefigue," linked to certain members of the "Foreigners' Circle." Josep Sabadell convinced some French investors, members of the "Foreigners' Circle," to acquire the complex (1808) plus 10 hectares of land. The idea was to build what would be the largest and most exclusive leisure complex near the city. They registered the La Rabassada SA corporation and put two and a half million pesetas on the table. They contacted architect Andreu Audet i Puig to commission the project. The underlying idea was to locate the casino within the private club, in order to circumvent the law that prohibited the opening of gambling halls in public establishments. A large amusement park would be built next to it, dwarfing the one in the neighboring Tibidabo Park. The complex opened on July 15, 1911, with a spectacular inauguration. The reception was attended by the cream of the Barcelona and foreign bourgeoisie. The inaugural speech was presided over by the then mayor of Sant Cugat, Martí Rodó. They enjoyed a magnificent presentation dinner prepared by chefs specially brought from Paris. Barcelona was plastered with advertising. The national and international press reported on the great event: El Diario de Barcelona, ​​El Diluvio, La Vanguardia, El Imparcial, El Heraldo de Madrid, Le Figaró, the Daily Mail… The project's promoters had installed a rented tram line in Marseille that originally ran from what is now Craywinckel Street to the casino gates. On the first day, the power plant's converter broke down, although service resumed four days later (July 19, 1911). Faced with this setback, the company made a fleet of cars with drivers available to visitors since the funicular railway couldn't handle the crowds… but most of the curious couldn't get there by any means and had to settle for spending the day a little further down, at the Hostal de l'Arengada. Access to the complex cost half a peseta, which included access to one attraction. It featured luxurious lounges, a hairdresser's, a medical service, a billiard room, telephones, an oratory, a theater with a capacity for two hundred people, restaurants where you could dine for 5 pesetas... thermal baths, dance halls, and a hotel with fantastic rooms that cost a whopping eight pesetas a night. Outside, spectacular gardens awaited visitors with sculptures, pergolas, gazebos, and fountains... and a viewing terrace with drink kiosks. To read the full story, you can visit our website: www.barcelonamemory.com.