Casa Batlló is located in Passeig de Grŕcia, which was formerly the road linking Ciutat Vella, the oldest part of Barcelona, with the small town of Grŕcia, which nowadays is a district of the city.
After the approval in 1860 of Plan Cerdŕ, the plan for the development of the city, Passeig de Grŕcia began to take shape as the main axis of the urban expansion, and it was here that the city’s most prominent families began to establish their homes. The thoroughfare became an avenue for pedestrians and horse drawn coaches in the 19th century, and later became a main road for motor vehicles in the 20th century.
The building located at number Passeig de Grŕcia 43 was originally built by Emilio Sala Cortés in 1877, when there was still no electric lighting in Barcelona. It was acquired by Mr. Josep Batlló y Casanovas in 1903, and it was he who commissioned Gaudí to carry out work on it. The initial plan was to knock the existing building down, but finally it was decided to renovate instead. It is thought that prior to this there must have been a farmhouse or a country house on this site, as the remains of a larder can still be seen in the basement. This would have been used to keep food cool in the old days.