Tag Archives: history

fixed it!

11 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in architecture, history, sevilla

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balbuena huertas

Or rather, Paul fixed it for me. Remember my fabulous tasting menu at Balbuena y Huertas last week? I mentioned that the restaurant is housed in a rather splendid 5 Star GL boutique hotel (opening soon). However, when they renovated the building, which was built in 1924/25, they left up an antique ceramic tile ad that is, well, frankly racist. I always put a photo of the outside of bars and restaurants in my reviews but really didn’t want to lead with a pic of the offending tiles and so… Paul to the rescue.

In fact, Fiona and I had a talk with the chef about this after our meal the other day but he said that old tiles like this are protected and cannot be removed. And he’s right. But they can be covered up as long as the original tiles aren’t damaged (I’ve seen this done in various places around town). So we shall see.

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today’s grey with… pulleys?

12 Monday Dec 2022

Posted by in architecture, sevilla

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pulleys

Out for a walk this afternoon and noticed for the first time that the gables on one side of The House of My Dreams have these pulleys over the windows. It was suggested that they were used for lifting furniture up to the top floor, except you really couldn’t fit much through those windows. Also, although those rooms are clearly apartments now, back then they were probably used for storage (?) or servants quarters (??). This got me wondering about the history of this house, which is massive. Who was it built for? And most importantly, WHY did they install pulleys over those windows. Enquiring minds want to know.

gables

droguería osario

28 Friday Jan 2022

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drogueria osario (2)

I passed by the Droquería Osario today and noticed this little model in their window showing how it looked when they first went into business in 1948. Now I want to go back when they’re open to see how it looks without the doors and windows locked up. Interesting that the logos for Norit and Iberia dyes are still the same today.

drogueria osario (1)

identity theft

15 Thursday Jul 2021

Posted by in history, rants, sevilla, spain, tapas bars

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identity theftphoto courtesy of Gurmé Sevilla

You may recall when a few months ago I wrote about Bodega San José closing its doors after more than 80 years (the Bueno family took over the location around 1935). This was because the present owners of the building refused to renew the lease this year, presumably because they got a more lucrative offer. And here is the result.

Surely this is identity theft? Taking over a cherished family-run bar, doing a big reno, and then not only keeping the same name but putting “desde 1893” in your logo. This new bar (actually “desde 2021”) has nothing to do with the old one and is nothing like it. I’ve seen photos on their (new) FB page and it looks like your typical gastro bar inside. It’s irksome that they are staking claim to a history that was never theirs, obviously trying to profit from it. Not the first time I’ve seen this happen here, but perhaps the saddest one for me.