Avinguda de la Llum (Catalan forAvenue of Light;Spanish:Avenida de la Luz) is a now-closedunderground mall inBarcelona, the first of its kind to open in Europe.[1] It was open between 1940 and 1990, located on a 2000 square-metre site built in 1929 and boasting 68 commercial establishments, including a movie theater. It was situated underneathCarrer de Pelai, betweenPlaça de Catalunya,Carrer de Balmes,Carrer de Bergara andPlaça de la Universitat, upstairs of theFerrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) stationCatalunya, between its vaults and the street.[2]
Despite initially being part of an ambitious plan to build an underground city fromPlaça Urquinaona toPlaça de la Universitat, theurban decay prevalent in the area from the 1960s onwards prompted its progressive abandonment. The Avinguda de la Llum was in a state of decay and had a large homeless population by the time of its closure on May 21, 1990. On the ground upstairs stood an empty triangular area between buildings which came to be calledTriangle de la vergonya ("Triangle of shame"), which contributed to the adoption of measures to renovate the area in time for the1992 Summer Olympics.
Nowadays its main corridor is part of the underground stage of aSephora store in the El Triangle shopping centre (its successor), while some parts of it are still abandoned and remain closed to the public.
41°23′09″N2°10′06″E / 41.38583°N 2.16833°E /41.38583; 2.16833
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