Hola Booklady.

Actually, now that you mention it the Plaza de Santa Ana is turned upside down and the construction is going on in the middle of the Plaza.

However, it does not affect the "life" of the Plaza for Santa Ana is really famous for the taverns, beer houses and caf�s that surround it which are untouched by the work going on as you can see by the following photos:

* shot 1 of the construction..

* shot 2 of the construction..

If it were a week or 2 earlier it would hurt more since there are always "terrazas" for outdoor dining/drinking lining the Plaza interior but since the "terrazas" come down (all over Madrid) during the first week in November you will not miss them when you are here.

The reason I did not report on Santa Ana and the construction here sooner is because since there are no monuments there really worth mentioning, I felt it was not too important but I am glad to bring it to you now that you asked.

Hope this update helped

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. Yes , the Plaza de Santa Ana and the areas surrounding it (calle Pr�ncipe, Huertas, etc.) are great to have Tapas, go dancing, music listening, etc... It is one of my favorite areas to go out in Madrid.

Oh yeah, forgot to tell you all that the refurbishing of the buildings in the Plaza de la Villa (see first few posts on this thread) has been completed and the only work still going on is on the side facing the Calle Mayor so the Plaza is open for great photographs and is sporting a cleaner look than I have ever seen

You can appreciate the "new" Plaza de la Villa by viewing my 180� panoramic at www.multimadrid.com/panoramics/plaza_de_la_villa/plaza_de_la_villa.html

Saludos & happy snapshoting,
jer...

Jeremy,
Thank you so much for letting me know about Plaza Santa Ana! You are very kind in taking the time to take the photos. While there is construction it seems that we can still get around to visit those delightful Tapa Bars and restaurants!

Gracias!

Your welcom Booklady

As I said, the construction in the Plaza does not seem to affect the bars and restaurants around it but if one is staying in the Hotel Tryp Reina VIctoria or any hostels that may face the Plaza it may be a bit too loud as there is some heave machinary at work

Saludos,
jer...

Hi all, just an update on Madrid construction and restoration.

Bad news: The "Jardines del Descubrimiento" in the Plaza de Col�n are still being restored.

Good news: the previously torn up "Plaza de Santa Cruz" (THIS PHOTO) is, as of Dec 15th 2001, a totally new plaza and I must say they have done a mighty fine job. They left it much nicer than it was before they tore it up to put in an underground parking garage.

As usual, here are the photo links:

* Click here for photo 1

* Click here for photo 2

Enjoy yet another beautiful Madrid plaza.

Saludos,
jer...

Just an update on a few monuments under construction.

1) The Plaza de Santa Ana is still a mess and is worse than ever. The rumnors of the disappearance of "Little Lorca" (the statue of Federic Garc�a Lorca) that is normally in the Plaza are true, he will be back after the construction is competed.

2) Good news, the construction on PASEO DE LOS RECOLETOS is done and all is nice again

3) The Construction that was going on (mopre like monument restoration) at the JARDINES DEL DESCUBRIMIENTO is coming to an end. Currently there are only a few chain link fences and the monument is once again photographable

Saludos,
jer...

Update as of May 6, 2002:

1) Yipeeeeee! The Retiro Park is looking good with its new facelift and sparkling (not quite) clean water in the central lake and surrounding fountains.

They have taken down the majority of those ugly orange and white barriers and we can now see it in all its glory once again.

HERE IS THE PHOTO

Compared to the during cleaning shot HERE

Oh, and here is a fun video clip ---> CLICK HERE (882 KB file size).

The water is back and clean (for now) but they still need to finish the esplanade that they are extending along the far side of the photo.

Happy strolling!

2) The Plaza de Santa Ana is still a mess but looks like some work is getting done at least.

Saludos,
jer...

Jer,
thanks for the Retiro update! Looking forward to seeing it during my visit in a couple weeks!

Jer, you called me "slacker", but you post new messages faster than me: I was going to write about the "brand new pond" we have in the Retiro Park (it isn't new, but it looks so!!), and you posted about it five hours before me!

Quicker than the human eye!!!

Saludos,
jer...

Quick update on the Plaza de Santa Ana, click HERE NOW for the photo as of May 16th 2002

It only looks about half way done, if that. Nobody is giving dates for the completion of the new plaza but I am guessing around the end of July at the earliest. I for one can't wait to see how it turns out

Will keep you updated here.

On another construction note, another one bites the dust! The otherwise very photogenic CONGRESO DE LOS DIPUTADOS (Congress building) here in Madrid just off the PUERTA DEL SOL is now sporting a MAJOR disaster area in the street in front of it.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PHOTO

While it will be harder to get a photo of this site with the street torn up, it is still possible since the affected area is not directly in front of the nicest part of the congress.

Hey, you can always just use MY PHOTOS

Saludos until our next update,
jer...

Hey all, just ringing in to let you know that the Plaza de Santa Ana is now remodeled and finished, no more construction war zone

Came out pretty nice and they even put LITTLE LORCA back in his original spot

Saludos,
jer...

And where is the photographic evidence??!!??

All in due time my friend, patience is a noun

Saludos,
jer...

Jer,
did you mean to say that patience is a virtue?