Remembering the Camps Elisis!
A commemorative information panel in C/ Mallorca, on the corner with Pg. Camps Elisis, remembers these gardens which were a meeting point for social and leisure activity in the mid-19th century. Opened in 1853, the garden included the first funfair in Catalonia.
The gardens were on a six-hectare site between Passeig de Gràcia and C/ Roger de Llúria, and between C/ Aragó and C/ Rosselló. The architect Josep Oriol Mestres planned the site and its decoration was tasked to Fèlix Cagé.
Besides green spaces and paths to stroll around, the Camps Elisis included a large rollercoaster, an inn, a café, a dance hall, a pond and shows which managed to attract up to a thousand spectators. The admission price was two rals.
New life around Passeig de Gràcia
The opening of the street in 1827 made it easier to get between Barcelona and Vila de Gràcia by carriage. This led to the appearance of drinking establishments and recreational spaces in the vicinity, such as these gardens.
The Camps Elisis was a direct rival for the Jardins del Tívoli, built four years earlier on the other side of Passeig de Gràcia.
Urban speculation gradually meant these spaces fell into decline, until the Camps Elisis closed in 1872. A theatre was built on the site, and later in the 20th century the current buildings were erected.
