Jirón Quilca | |
Part Of: | Damero de Pizarro |
Namesake: | Quilca District |
Terminus A: | Jirón de la Unión |
Terminus B: | Alfonso Ugarte Avenue |
Junction: | Jirón Camaná, Jirón Caylloma, Jirón Rufino Torrico, Wilson Avenue, Jirón Washington |
Completion Date: | 1535 |
Jirón Quilca is a major street in the Damero de Pizarro, located in the historic centre of Lima, Peru. The street starts at its intersection with the Jirón de la Unión and continues until it reaches Alfonso Ugarte Avenue.
The road that today constitutes the street was laid by Francisco Pizarro when he founded the city of Lima on January 18, 1535.
In 1862, when a new urban nomenclature was adopted, the road was named jirón Quilca, after the district in Camaná Province, Arequipa. Prior to this renaming, each block (cuadra) had a unique name:
During the economic crisis of the 1980s, both Quilca and Camaná streets became known for their book stores, which sold second-hand books and music cassettes at an affordable price. The leasing contract between these stores and the Archdiocese of Lima, effective since 1997, expired in 2016.[1] A known place is the Bar Queirolo, a restaurant in the street's corner with Camaná.[1]
In the early morning of October 27, 2018, the Giacoletti Building, located on the street's first block, was damaged by a fire that lasted three hours.[2] [3] The building has remained empty since, still in a dilapidated state and without final demolition or reconstruction due to bureaucratic obstacles and financing problems.[4] Currently, only the outer part of the building remains, although plans to rebuild it have been proposed.[5]