Robert Capa Photo Made This Building Famous, Now There’s a Fight Over What Happens to It

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Three children are near a heavily damaged brick building with bullet holes. Two sit on the curb among debris, while another stands in a doorway, all wearing modest clothing and looking somber.

An argument over what to do with a building at the center of a famous Robert Capa photograph has broken out between authorities in Madrid and the International Center of Photography.

10 Peironcely Street in the Spanish capital was visited by Capa in 1936 in the aftermath of a bombing by Italian and German fascist forces in support of Spain’s dictator, Francisco Franco, during the Civil War.

The photograph shows three children sitting among the rubble of a recently bombed street as shrapnel marks festoon the building behind them, which looks like it may fall down. The power of the photo lies in the four characters who are all happy and smiling, despite the destruction that surrounds them.

Remarkably, 10 Peironcely Street is still standing today. Residents no longer live there after being moved out of the squalid conditions. The previous Madrid city council had plans to turn the site into a cultural hub dedicated to Robert Capa’s work and a museum about the bombs dropped by Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy during the Spanish Civil War.

Three cars—a red, a silver, and a black—are parked on a street in front of a long, old brick building with green doors and windows. The building appears worn, with faded posters and peeling paint.

However, a new council changed its predecessor’s decision and announced plans to open the Robert Capa Cultural Experimentation Centre, aimed at offering underprivileged children and young people a chance to learn and develop creative skills. The plans include a small space dedicated to Capa’s photograph of the building.

The International Center of Photography (ICP), an organization charged with managing Capa’s legacy, has protested the changes saying that it will “Not authorize, endorse, or permit the use of Robert Capa’s name, image, or photographic legacy for any center, exhibition, or project located at Peironcely 10.”

The ICP wants the Save Peironcely 10 platform, a local group that has campaigned to save the building for many years, to spearhead the project.

However, the Madrid council says while it will respect Capa’s legacy, the purpose of the new centre is more important than the name.

“The new space aims to become a centre for cultural experimentation, especially for children and young people at risk of social exclusion, offering them tools to develop their creativity and use culture as a vehicle for inclusion, learning, and opportunities,” the council tells The Guardian.

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