Paseo de Cristóbal Colón

"The Paseo de Cristóbal Colón (known as Paseo Colón) is an important public avenue in the city of Seville (Spain), which runs parallel to the Guadalquivir River and is a continuation of the Paseo de las Delicias. Important monuments of the city are concentrated on this road, such as the Torre del Oro, the Maestranza bullring or the Maestranza theatre. The Guadalquivir River was a backbone element in the development of the city of Seville. The discovery of America and the establishment of the trade monopoly in the 16th century made the port of Seville an area of ​​great importance for the city. Ships docked at the Customs dock, next to the Torre del Oro. The area outside the city walls between the wall that extended to the Torre del Oro, the Guadalquivir River and the pontoon bridge was known as the Arenal since the 12th century, where intense port activity was concentrated. In the first third of the 19th century, the stretch of wall that linked the Torre del Oro to the city was demolished, opening up the passage to the south, in what is now the Paseo de Cristóbal Colón. In the 18th century, the defence system against river flooding in this area was structured around the existence of several parallel walls between which walkways for cars and pedestrians were opened. The last of the walls was built approximately on the line of the frontage of the current Paseo de Colón. In 1803, the street was made up of five streets, the central one being a walkway with benches. From the 17th century there is news that the city's population went to the Arenal to walk. At the beginning of the 19th century it was still quite busy, although at the end of that century, the renewed port activity caused the promenade area to move to other places. During this century the level of the promenade was raised, following the construction of the docks and the railway layout, and several canals that crossed the track and served as a drain for waste water towards the Guadalquivir were finally piped."