ATENEO LA LAGUNA

The Athenaeum of La Laguna, is included within the organization of the athenaeums, civil associations where prominent and intellectual characters entered, with the intention of promoting the country's progress (science, society, etc.), with a special emphasis in art. This organization had as background numerous canary societies, formed in the 19th century (El Porvenir, El Literario Cabinet, etc.) The company was founded on November 25, 1904, date of its first minutes, being its first President the poet Jos Hern ndez Amador, founding partner, who was born in October 1877, having numerous homes until his permanent settlement in the house of the Baulen family, first as a guest and since 1954 as owner or property.

As the entity's logo, today the Gold Medal of the Island and the City, the obligatory head of the goddess Athena was chosen, the inescapable silhouette of the Teide peak in the background, and the cover of the Casa Lercaro on San Agustin Street, Current Museum of History of Tenerife. This last election is due to the fact that it had its headquarters in this property, until the post-war years, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of San Fernando de La Laguna, and in it the History classroom of Art, and therefore to locate there the human, artistic and literary activity of the city of the Adelantado. until completing the first half of the century several characters, part of the regional history, took over the presidency of the Athenaeum. They were prominent writers, artists, lawyers, historians, doctors, politicians, such as Benito P rez Armas, who was from 1906 to 1913, coinciding at the end of that mandate with his presidency, also, of the provincial council. Born in Lanzarote in 1871, and died in Tenerife in 1937, under his presidency the first Floral Games took place in 1906, which rewarded poets close to the "regionalist" school, as well as the beginning of the literary evenings "Fiestas de the Menceyes "from 1907. The student of history, songs and dances Manuel de Ossuna van den Heede, who was born in La Laguna in 1845, and directed the Economics and was President of the Athenaeum in 1913, also directed the Athenaeum. the same year as Antonio Zerolo Herrera, and the lawyer Emilio Ram n Gonz lez de Mesa and Su rez-madan, who was born in September 1895 and presided from 1940 to 1949.

It has been very significant the wide collaboration that the artists of the islands provided to the activities of the Athenaeum, some of them outstanding creators of 20th century art in the Canary Islands, and in some cases Directors and even Presidents of society. The painter Alfredo de Torres Edwards (1889-1943), who was President of the Athenaeum in 1926 and from 1936 to 1940, made in 1913 the decoration and plastic paintings of the Art Festival, and returned to perform them on September 25, 26,28,29,33 and 34, this year in which Eugenio D rs intervened, a key character in the analysis and critical essay of art in the first quarter of the 20th century in Spain. Torres Edward even served as president of the Art section in 1927, when he presided at the Pinto de la Rosa Athenaeum.

Athenaeum of La Laguna: Cat logo of the Art Fund. Publications of the Ateneo de La Laguna, 2000. Celestino Hern ndez. President of the Art Section.

Cadastre website: https://www1.sedecatastro.gob.es/Cartografia/mapa.aspx?buscar=S

Web page: Grafcan https://visor.grafcan.es/visorweb/

Official website: https://www.ateneodelalaguna.es/

Web page Government of the Canary Islands: http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/boc/2006/008/boc-2006-008-018.pdf

PERAZA DE AYALA, Jos. Rehearsal of a history of the Ateneo de la Laguna from its foundation in 1904 until the end of 1936. Ateneo de La Laguna: Tenerife, 1979.

Documentation provided by the Secretary of the Athenaeum

This property is an 18th-century building, with a symmetrical architecture, where verticality over horizontality predominates in the openings, formed by three floors. This retains the typical austere facade, topped by front that hides the tile roof. The ground floor has a canter finish; and the upper floors a traditional plaster.

On the facade you can see 15 openings, 10 corresponding to the windows of the upper floors and on the ground floor 3 doors and 2 windows (one of them is used as a showcase). The hollow of these windows is made up of a wooden structure. On the outside they are composed of a smooth wooden frame. All windows have an exterior guillotine glazing, except for the central window of the upper floor, which consists of two folding glazed sheets. The wooden door that gives access to the Athenaeum Association, is composed of two sheets, each one containing 6 rows of bearings in sequence 2-2; with a type of geometric ornamentation. Both leaves have metal knobs.

Inside we find the entrance hall, in the background a small reception and the main staircase, which gives access to the upper floors. The staircase articulates all the plants spatially organizing the vertical circulation, distributing the main spaces towards the front, and reserving the smaller service spaces or rooms on its sides.

The current division of the Athenaeum is: on the first floor is the access and cafeteria; in the second ...

Constructively, the building materializes in the following system:

• Lower facade in two types of stone (gray and pink); whitewashed upper facades; like the rest of the interior construction

• Curved tile roof, with 4-water roof

• Stairs, beams, floor, like all gaps in doors and windows are made of wood, possibly tea;

• Some interior doors are glass and gold metal