La Equitativa Palace (1891) is a trapezoidal building in downtown Madrid, Spain. The façades, more than 120 meters long, and the first bays of the building, are considered one of the most brilliant adaptations of eclectic architecture in Madrid. It is now the Four Seasons Hotel… [1280×942] [OC]

…The Palace was built in the late 19th century as the headquarters of the La Equitativa Insurance Company, the Spanish subsidiary of the American company The Equitable Life Assurance Society, and was later acquired by the Banco Español de Crédito.

The fundamental lines of the façades respond to classical principles of composition, organized in three horizontal bodies separated by cornices and balconies. Each body has a different character: commercial and office at the bottom, representative at the middle, and domestic at the top. This organization, inspired by the palaces of previous centuries, responds to the vertical structure of uses prior to the invention and implementation of elevators in buildings.

The building was declared a Site of Cultural Interest in 2012. Its renovation was carried out during that decade, preserving the building’s façade.