La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
The neoclassic building above is known simply as The Pergola. It has been abandoned and neglected since well before our arrival and I’m happy to see it getting a make-over. The building was inaugurated in 1930 along with the monument to the Duke of Rivas (poet and playwright Ángel de Saavedra). When the monument was erected in 1929, there were army barracks across the street and it was decided they weren’t a nice backdrop for the Duke or the gardens. Hence The Pergola which was intended as a pavilion for fairs and exhibitions, but was first used as a library.
During the Franco years, it was used to promote the regime. The Córdoba Fair used to be held in the adjacent Gardens of La Victoria and The Pergola was used by the government as a booth. The fair grew too big and was moved and the building was abandoned for decades.
In 2002, it was restored and turned into an exhibition hall and bar. Private companies took over but, by 2008, the City shut it down due to non-payment of debts. In 2015, it was reborn as a private-venture creative and cultural space. That lasted until 2019 when the City was again forced to step in due to non-payment of debts. Hmmm, maybe privatization isn’t always the solution.
Finally, renovation work began in late March and is expected to be completed in a few short months when it will house a tourist information center and exhibition space. I hope they’re more successful this time. It’s a major part of the gardens and, although undergoing significant repair, it’s still beautiful.
Except for one noted below, these photos were taken the day of my rain-soaked walk before it was rain soaked. I’ve got some more bureaucracy to take care of in the States (something we hoped was resolved). I can’t phone yet because they’re on Texas time. I’ve already spoken with someone at The Kid Brother’s office. He keeps me on my toes, or maybe it’s back on my heels. I hope it makes a difference. Is it any wonder I have agita?
El edificio neoclásico que se ve arriba se conoce simplemente como La Pérgola. Ha estado abandonado y descuidado desde mucho antes de nuestra llegada, y me alegra verlo renovado. El edificio se inauguró en 1930 junto con el monumento al Duque de Rivas (el poeta y dramaturgo Ángel de Saavedra). Cuando se erigió el monumento en 1929, había cuarteles militares al otro lado de la calle y se decidió que no eran un buen telón de fondo para el Duque ni para los jardines. De ahí surgió La Pérgola, que estaba destinada a ser un pabellón para ferias y exposiciones, pero que inicialmente se utilizó como biblioteca.
Durante los años de Franco, se utilizó para promover el régimen. La Feria de Córdoba solía celebrarse en los Jardines de La Victoria, contiguos a la feria, y La Pérgola era utilizada por el gobierno como stand. La feria creció demasiado y se trasladó, y el edificio quedó abandonado durante décadas.
En 2002, fue restaurado y convertido en sala de exposiciones y bar. Empresas privadas se hicieron cargo, pero en 2008 la ciudad lo cerró por falta de pago de deudas. En 2015, renació como un espacio creativo y cultural de iniciativa privada. Eso duró hasta 2019, cuando la ciudad se vio obligada a intervenir de nuevo por falta de pago de deudas. Mmm, tal vez la privatización no siempre sea la solución.
Finalmente, las obras de renovación comenzaron a finales de marzo y se espera que estén terminadas en unos pocos meses, cuando albergará un centro de información turística y un espacio de exposiciones. Espero que tengan más éxito esta vez. Es una parte importante de los jardines y, aunque está en proceso de reparación importante, sigue siendo hermoso.
Excepto por una que menciono más abajo, estas fotos fueron tomadas el día de mi paseo bajo la lluvia, antes de que lloviera. Tengo que ocuparme de más trámites burocráticos en Estados Unidos (algo que esperábamos que se hubiera resuelto). Todavía no puedo llamar porque tienen horario de Texas. Ya hablé con alguien de la oficina de El Hermanito. Me mantiene alerta, o mejor dicho, me pone de los nervios. Espero que sirva de algo. ¿Acaso sorprende que tenga malestar estomacal?
• Antes de llegar a los parques, paré a beber algo. En el quiosco había una mesa para servirse frijoles (alubias). Aunque me encantan las alubias, ricos en fibra y proteínas, y bajos en grasa, no me apetecía. ¿Comprarías frijoles en una máquina para servirte tú mismo o probarías de un plato de muestras gratis?
• Junto a los jardines del duque de Rivas.
• Una foto del año pasado. Monumento al poeta y dramaturgo Ángel de Saavedra, duque de Rivas. Detrás, el centro de La Pérgola.
• Bajo un cielo tormentoso, se divisa el Mercado Victoria al fondo, detrás de lo que se conoce como el Quiosco Joven (restaurado hace unos cinco años y que suele estar lleno de música en vivo).
• Fuente modernista de alrededor de 1900 en los Jardines de la Victoria. Espero que esté en la lista de tareas pendientes para su restauración.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Thanks for the history behind the Pergola. You would have been a great teacher.
NO, I would not have taken a scoop of those beans but they do sound good for one.
With KB matter….breathing, breathing out.
Jim:
I did the breathe in breathe out thing but then I forgot to repeat!
Yes, the pergola’s far too pretty to be allowed to go to rot. In context with the statue in front. one almost loses the fact it’s overshadowed by those ugly apartment blocks.
I’ve avoided “scoop your own” pulses etc, ever since I discovered a load of grubs chewing their way through a jar of muesli (I could see them through the glass – had it been an opaque container I probably would gave eaten them). However, most of the larger Cypriot shops in our area have “scoop your own” tubs, including nuts, sunflower seeds and olives in brine or oil, and nobody bats an eyelid. [And I have been known to take samples from a communal tray at the deli counter in Morrisons supermarket; I’m a daredevil like that!] Jx
Jon:
Yes, I thought it was ironic that they built the pergola to block the view of the barracks and then built modern barracks to replace them.
I cringed when I read about the grubs! (And I’m cringing again.)
My eyesight is really bad this morning so I’ll content myself by looking at the pretty pictures. Nice, as usual.
Deedles:
Well, I will make sure to always included pretty pictures.
Good luck with Texas,
David Godfrey:
There was progress yesterday. Spoke with two people. The first dripped with “investment fund salesman.” Pleasant but made me feel like I wanted to sanitize my phone. The second was not in sales and was a pleasure and very helpful (I hope).
We have a new shop called the Refillery. You bring your own container and scoop out what you need from containers with lids, not open in a basket like the beans, and I do buy some of their products. I would probably buy the beans in the basket. Cooking them would, in my mind, kill off anything. Sample something off a free sample plate? I have but it depends on what it is and where.
ellen abbott:
I have in the past scooped fresh beans and other things in markets, but it always left me a little unsure. And I just can’t get myself to have something from a free sample plate. As for a bowl of beans on a table on the street, nope.
I too am shocked that something something so classically beautiful would have been allowed to sit abandoned and neglected. It will be nice to see new life on it I’ll bet. The outside of the building is very reminiscent of dog Rodin museum in Philadelphia.
Mistress Maddie:
I’ll have to go back and get more photos. I do love the building. So glad it’s being saved… again.
Interesting that Franco raises his head again in here. And I was hugely amused at agita translated into Spanish! Without a foray into English..
When I was a little kid I used to think if one foreign language were translated into another it had to go via English!
I eventually lost my island mentality and realized everyone didn’t think in English. Then in France I met Spanish students speaking French with, amazing, Spanish accents! How could this be?? Boud
Boud:
Oh, yes, I do love hearing Spanish spoken here with French accents, German accents… not American accents. SG met our friend Lulu in Spanish class. She told him he had an edge on her and Finnish students because so many Spanish words have the same Latin root as English words. No such connection with Finnish. She would translate in her head from Finnish to English to get to Spanish.
Eww, no, no thanks to a scoop-your-own treat 🙂
As always, your photos are great to see. I love the bandstand/pergola kiosk place. We have a wonderful Victorian era park in the city of St. Louis, called Tower Grove Park, that has a number of pergolas and bandstands and shelters (they usually call them pavilions) of wonderful design, and, fortunately, they are beautifully kept up, and the park is used regularly… this was my husband’s stomping grounds as a boy, where he regularly biked and ran around with his friends. When we lived in the city (until 2011), we walked there almost every day, in the summer. Here’s a link… but, I know that you may have links blocked in comments… nonetheless: Pavilions in Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, MO
(We have several big parks in the city, but this one, and the famous Forest Park — scene of the 1904 Worlds Fair– are our favorites.)
Judy C:
Thanks for the second link. Those pavilions are beautiful. So nice that they don’t all match. Your links weren’t blocked. What happens sometimes but not always is a comment with a link is set aside awaiting approval. YOU were automatically approved!
Oh, shoot… link doesn’t work, but, if you happen to be interested, they’re pretty cool… you can copy and paste:
https://www.towergrovepark.org/pavilionspicnic1
I’m afraid I scoop things out of the (lidded) bulk bins at the grocery store all the time. Nothing’s killed me . . . yet!
Debra:
When we lived in Irvine, we had a high-end supermarket with loads of gourmet stuff in bulk bins. I used them, but was never truly comfortable.
Hopefully this time the saviors of the Pergola will get things right and it can stay open; it’s a beautiful spot.
I’d pass on the free scoop unless it was tequila; just sayin’.
Bob:
Yeah, even the tequila worm is dead.
I am not that worried about taking from a free samples plate. I don’t often do it but at Costco, sometimes one must. I guess I believe that we’re all far more sturdy when it comes to bacteria than we think.
This is just a theory and I could very well be wrong.
Ms. Moon Who Has So Many Theories
Ms. Moon:
We had a friend who used to go to Costco for lunch. She grazed on the free samples.
I have a feeling she’s not alone.
I hope that beautiful fountain is restored. I wouldn’t scoop my own and I seldom take free samples although the vendors at Costco are very particular about the way they give out samples so I think it’s safe to try food/drink there.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
I’ve just never been a big free samples person. Although, a shop called Sabor a España always has samples and I once tried three-chocolate-covered sunflower seeds and bought two bags!
It would be a hard “NO” for me to buy a scoop of those beans. It is amazing how far Spain has come since the Franco years. I can remember him being in power up until the mid-70s.
Michael:
It’s astounding how Spain rose above the story of their previous 40 years. Also astounding is there are still Franco supporters. But the enlightened continue to win. My sister was here around 1970. She loved it, but I remember it was an issue that she was going to a Fascist country. (Imagine that!)
Ugh. Bureaucracy! That last fountain does indeed look like a prime candidate for renovation. Hope something successful gets launched at the Pergola!
Steve:
That poor fountain. It needs some landscaping, too.
Before the Franco years: I would be keen to know how in the past they are, or does he haunt the present so.
Urspo:
Curious.