During Casa Botines’ mid-century restoration, workers found the plans beneath a sculpture of Saint George.
The sculpture shows Saint George slaying a dragon and stands above the building’s main entrance in León. A lead tube hidden beneath it contained original plans signed by Antoni Gaudí, along with period press clippings and other documents connected with the project. The discovery helped confirm details of Gaudí’s original design.
Casa Botines was built between 1891 and 1892 for the textile merchants Fernández and Andrés. Its medieval-looking exterior was paired with innovative structural features, including cast-iron pillars that created more open ground-floor spaces. The Saint George statue therefore became both a landmark and an unexpected architectural archive.
Saint George is easy to confuse with other saints because Gaudí’s work often incorporates religious and legendary imagery. Here, however, the dragon-slaying figure is specifically Saint George. The building later became a museum dedicated to Gaudí, Spanish art and Casa Botines’ history.