Edificio Duque de Lerma, Modern residential tower in Huerta del Rey district, Valladolid, Spain
The Edificio Duque de Lerma is a residential building in the Huerta del Rey district with 24 floors and a height of 87 meters (285 feet). It accommodates approximately 120 apartments and features five elevators serving the units.
Construction began in 1970 as part of a planned trio of 32-storey towers called "Los Vigías de Castilla"; only this tower was built, and only 23 of the 32 planned floors. It stood unfinished and abandoned for years, its facade covered with 1980s and 1990s graffiti such as "OTAN NO" and "0,7% YA". After a 1985 auction and a 1990s conversion to housing, it was completed in 1999 and inaugurated on 13 December by mayor Francisco Javier León de la Riva.
During the 1980s, the unfinished building's facade displayed political messages and murals, reflecting social movements of that period in Spain.
The tower stands on Avenida de Salamanca, on the right bank of the Pisuerga beside the Puente Mayor in the Huerta del Rey district. Two of its five lifts are mounted outside on the north facade. The 550 m² top floor, bought in 2015 by businessman Alberto Gutiérrez, was remodelled for a bar and restaurant using its lookout.
The tower shares its 87-metre height with New York's Flatiron Building, and while unfinished it was often compared to Pyongyang's Ryugyong Hotel. In 2007 Santiago Lorenzo filmed scenes of "Un buen día lo tiene cualquiera" here. Its external lighting projects images onto the facade during cultural events.
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