Águilas Casino
The Casino in Águilas
Águilas Casino was built between 1894 and 1895, and is one of the few remaining examples of historical Casinos in the Region of Murcia.
Casinos were, essentially, private clubs, built so that the bourgeoise society of the area had a location for dances, recitals and social meetings.
Members of the association which used the Casino, mainly came from families who owned the mining exploitations in the Lorca area, although a good number of British nationals also used the Águilas Casino, as there were many British nationals employed in the Mining Concessions as engineers, as well as working on the construction of the Águilas Railway. Other British also operated the Embarcadero El Hornillo, the docks which exported minerals coming in from Lorca, Almería and Granada.
During the Civil War the Popular Front expropriated the casino, converting it into the "Casa del Pueblo", the house of the town, a place for all to use. After the war, General Franco banned Casinos, and although the function of the building remained for social and public use, it was renamed as a "Liceo."
In the 60´s and 70´s, the building had become dilapidated and run down, so a group of local businessmen decided to carry out some restoration to the building and use it for public meetings and social events once again.
In 1993 the building was restored, all the former debts were cancelled, and the number of socios (members) paying to use its facilities increased from 60 to 500.
Today it is still widely used for sociable and cultural activities, and also houses a public library.
It´s well worth visiting as part of a visit to Águilas, being just a few metres from the tourist office.
The Casino office is open from 10am to 2pm daily, telephone 968 44 74 31
Address:
Águilas Casino
Plaza Robles Vives 2
30880
Águilas
For further information visit the Águilas town page.
