Cultural Society Casino of Novelda

The Cultural Society Casino of Novelda is a private club located at 23 Emilio Castelar Street, in the central area of the municipality of Novelda. It is an important institution in the social, cultural, and heritage life of the city.
The building was inaugurated in 1888. The project was designed by architect Antonio Puigcerver, and the construction was completed by builders José and Eduardo Beltrá Navarro. Years later, the rear plot of the building was purchased, and in 1903, the rest of the premises. At that time, the Casino of Novelda was located on the outskirts of Novelda. During the Civil War, the building was taken as the general headquarters of the Antifascist Popular Militias, and it was adapted for a home-school for working-class children and other charitable and cultural activities. They converted the casino into a hospital, which left it completely dismantled. Many of the paintings that returned to the Casino at the end of the war were destroyed in the fire that occurred in 1994. After immediate rehabilitation, the Casino of Novelda continues with its cultural activities to this day. A prominent personality in the presidency of the institution was, for a brief time, the professor and chronicler of Novelda Francisco Escolano Gómez. The first woman to hold that position has been Atala Crespo Pérez-Beneyto.

Wikipedia