The first built-up square was finished in 1619, and can be considered first "apartment buildings" in the city, as previous buildings were single family dwellings, palaces or smaller residences. There were serious fires in the square in 1631, 1672 and 1790, all three lasted several days and a number of people were killed in each. Ironically, all three times the water storage tanks under the square (now a parking lot) were empty. After the last fire most of the market was moved to other squares and the Plaza Mayor became a square for strolling and socializing.

The square as we now see it was completed in 1854 in a neoclassic style. The statue of Felipe III was placed about the same time, ending the mega-events in the square. Gardens were in the square between 1873 and 1936, as can be seen in some older pictures. Nowadays, the square has regained its importance for public celebrations: the end of Carnaval and King's Day parades, concerts during Madrid's local fiestas, the Christmas booths and various other official and unofficial events. On top of all that are the terraces, usually set up between March and November, great places for a drink, dinner or people-watching.

Puerta del Sol was one of the eastern gates in the city walls built around 1440. At this late date, the walls weren't built to defend against attacks, but instead to control people and merchandise entering the city, mainly for taxation but also to decrease the possibilities of plague. The gate itself was probably located between what are now Carretas and Montera streets, looking east towards the Carrera de San Jeronimo. The name Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate) may have been due to this orientation, though some experts think that a sun may have been painted on the gate. A new gate, built in 1539, was torn down in 1570 to widen the access to the city, with the square retaining until today the name of this long-vanished city gate. The present layout of the square is from renovations in the mid-nineteenth century that created the semi-oval shape, and a more recent renovation that left most of the strolling space on the north side.

 

Today "Sol" is a bustling square, filled with cars, buses and people and more people. The pedestrian shopping streets on the north are usually jammed in the afternoons, especially around Christmas, when the bright lights of the square (quite pretty) compete with the rather garish displays in that shopping area. "Sol" has several of the classic meeting places in the center of the city: the bear-and-tree statue, in front of the Mallorquina pastry shop or at Kilometer "0" marker(south side of the square), from which the six radial highways in Spain count their distances.

Puerta del Sol is Spain's equivalent of Times Square. Every year on New Year's Eve, the square fills with people to watch the golden ball drop and hear the clock chime in the New Year. As the chimes ring, everybody trys to eat the traditional twelve grapes for luck in the New Year, followed by huge gulps of Spanish champage (called "cava") and sometimes an inebriated leap into one of the fountains for a festive, though chilly, beginning to the year.

The attractivenes of it's centerpiece, a huge monument dedicated to Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes and his most (in)famouse fictional characters Don Quijote and Sancho Panza,  keeps visitors flocking to it. The plaza's main monument tells the tale of Don Alonso Quijano's (Don Quijote) journeys around Castilla La Mancha from the novel by Cervantes and the 4 faces of the monument are replete with characters and scenes form the novel, including of course his beloved "Dulcinea de El Toboso" who, in his fantasy world, was a beautiful maiden but in reality (as in the statue) is depicted as the serving wench doing the wash. The meaning of the statue's faces will escape the average visitor who has not read, perused or even heard of the world famous Novel by Cervantes (translated into most world languages by the way) but nonetheless, the plaza has become an obligatory visit for anyone coming to Madrid. On any given fair weather day one can find the Plaza filled to the brim with sunbathers, vendors and locals and tourists alike.

While this square is solidly inside what is now considered Old Madrid, it was outside the first city walls (Arab, 9^th century), included in the second walls built in the 12^th century by the Christians. Back then, the Plaza del Oriente was part walled gardens, part gully from the stream that ran along what is now Arenal street; the gully was filled in to create Plaza del Oriente and Plaza Isabel II (photo page coming soon) and more building space for the growing city. Until the early 19^th century what is now the square was also the site of palace buildings, torn down under French occupation to create more open spaces. During the 1990's, a controversial project excavated most of the square to build an underground parking lot and tunnel for Bailen street. While considerable pedestrian space was gained, many locals think that too much stone was used (the place is pretty hot in the summer); others wonder what archeological remains were destroyed while building the tunnel.