Casa del Millón

Casa del Millón, also known as Casa Quintero Báez, is a historic building in the Spanish city of Huelva and now used as the home of the College of Architects.

The Casa del Millón was built in 1916, in two periods between 1924 and 1931, as the home of Juan Quintero Báez, mayor of Huelva. It was designed by the architects Gonzalo Aguado and José María Pérez Carasa.

The popular nickname is due to the urban legend that the building cost the then exorbitant cost of one million pesetas.

The construction is part of the renovation of Calle Puerto, the then epicenter of the city's social life, where the headquarters of the City Hall and the Provincial Council were located.

The new bourgeoisie of Huelva, enriched by the splendor of the city in the shadow of the Riotinto Mining Company, chose this street to build its monumental homes. Such as the Palacio of Mora Claros (project no. 7) or Casa Antonio Checa (project no. 8).

The building was taken over in 1964 by the insurer Caja de Previsión y Socorro, which was located here until 1983. Due to its poor condition, it was then restored by the architects Ricardo and José Ramón Sierra Delgado, who adapted the building to the new headquarters of the College of Architects. In 1998, two more modifications were made, in 1998 by architect Millán García Lagares and from 2006 to 2011 by architect Manuel Ángel Vázquez.

It is a largely classical building, but with modernist and art nouveau influences. The narrow main facade with two French-style towers faces the square where Puerto, Cardenal Albornoz and Mora Claros streets meet. Within the towers are several viewpoints with wrought iron and glass closures characteristic of Huelva's early 20th century architecture.