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The Barcelona Experimental Farm was demolished in the first decade of the 20th century due to the urban development of the Eixample.
Its first location was located within the grounds of the Industrial School, in 1870, as the embryo of the future Higher School of Agriculture, in the old Batlló Factory. This had been built between 1868 and 1870, on the land of some rustic farms in a place known as L'Olivera Rodona and, later, Pla de Valldonzella, current Urgell street.
The factory was promoted by the brothers Feliu and Joan Batlló, according to a project by Rafael Guastavin and closed in 1889. It is surprising that such an ambitious factory was in operation for such a short time.
The reason for the closure had nothing to do with economic viability, but rather because of social problems. The Batllós were frightened by the radicalized union conflict that had its culmination in an attack that made them abandon their businesses.
The building was acquired by the Provincial Council of Barcelona, to locate the Industrial School of Barcelona, which had been created by a Royal Decree of March 30, 1904.
Subsequently, the Experimental Farm moved definitively to the Marimono Tower in Caldes de Montbui, where the community acquired it in 1922 and has been teaching since then.
After the urbanization of the area, there were three huge pieces of land owned by the Provincial Council. The first was delimited by the streets: Comte d'Urgell, Diagonal, Villarroel and Buenos Aires, which were rented, in 1938, by the florist Andreu Batlle, belonging to a saga of florists in Barcelona, who set up a nursery and a store de flores, at number 471 Diagonal.
Andreu Batlle, a descendant of Josep Batlle Gras, founder of a family dedicated entirely to floriculture, took advantage of the land that would have served as crop fields for the farm, to set up a flower shop and a nursery. For many years it was a chosen place to visit flower lovers.
The venue was so well received that his son Andreu Batlle Estadella would later open two new stores on the mountain side of Diagonal.
Subsequently, the Sears Stores, Galerías Preciados and El Corte Ingles were installed in the place.
Sears Stores were owned by the American company Sears Roebuck
The event was attended on behalf of the company by the vice president, John Gallagher and, on the Spanish side, the mayor Josep María de Porcioles, the military governor general, Serrano Ariz and the president of the Provincial Council Marqués de Castell-Florite, among others.
The lack of an addicted public led to its closure and the acquisition in 1982 of the premises by the then expanding company Galerías Preciados. Finally, with the bankruptcy of Rumasa, it was acquired by El Corte Inglés, which took over the property and reopened it after some reforms on November 23, 2004, until its final closure.
The building built by the Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan is still standing. At Christmas 1969, a dinner-shop was inaugurated, La OCA, a formula that implied that it could be eaten at any time of the day.
The property was awarded the prize for the best creative rehabilitation of the World Festival of Interiors in 2018. At that time the apartments cost 20,000 euros per square meter, the highest price in Spain at that time.
The success of La OCA was so great that it grew with other interrelated venues. And, in 1973, on the other side of the interior passage of the Winterthur building, La Oca Express opened, with an entrance on Urgell street, specializing in coffee and pastries.
In 1974 he opened a more sophisticated restaurant, La Oca Gourmet. He completed the series of premises with El Quiosco La Oca, located in the middle of said passage.
In 2007, La Oca suffered three fires in the restaurant: the first on January 21 in the kitchen and the other two, on July 9 and August 3.
Citytv began its broadcasts on April 23, 2001, initially limited to the city of Barcelona, with a series of popular announcers: Jordi González, Alfonso Arús, Àngel Llàcer, Toni Clapés.
In December 2009 it became 8tv and from that moment it can be seen throughout Spain through pay channels. It was also installed in the area of the old Experimental Farm at the time.
