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No. 57 of 84 in the list

Edificio Circo

The Edificio Circo stands on the second line from Levante beach and is one of the few Benidorm skyscrapers over 80 metres that still date from the 1970s. Hardly anything is documented about how it came to be.

Benidorm skyline drawn from building data: heights to scale, west to east Poniente Levante TM Tower · 230 m Intempo · 187.1 m Gran Hotel Bali · 186 m Gran Delfín · 158 m Torre Lúgano · 158 m Sunset Sailors Tower 1 · 151 m Neguri Gane · 148 m Edificio Kronos · 140 m Benidorm Beach · 126 m Edificio Don Jorge · 124 m El Mirador del Mediterráneo · 123 m Torre Levante · 120 m Costa Blanca I · 116 m Miragolf Playa 2 · 115 m Gemelos 26 Torre I · 114 m Gemelos 26 Torre II · 114 m Torre d'Oboe I · 114 m Torre d'Oboe II · 114 m Sunset Sailors Tower 2 · 113 m Sol de Poniente 2 · 112 m Beni Beach · 110 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 2 · 106.2 m Miragolf Playa I · 105 m Playa Azul · 105 m Torre Pinar · 105 m Residencial Islamar 2 · 104 m Residencial Islamar 3 · 104 m Torre Poseidón · 103 m Sunset Waves I · 101.5 m Sunset Waves II · 101.5 m Hotel Port Benidorm · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 1 · 101 m Las Terrazas de Benidorm 2 · 101 m Torre Doscalas · 100.4 m Gemelos 22 Torre 1 · 100.2 m Gemelos 22 Torre 2 · 100.2 m Coblanca 41 · 97 m Delfín Tower · 95 m Hotel Flamingo Oasis · 95 m Gemelos 20 Torre 1 · 94 m Gemelos 20 Torre 2 · 94 m Torre Coblanca · 94 m Sol de Poniente 1 · 92.7 m Tropic-Mar · 92.6 m Edificio Ónice · 92 m Sunset Drive East · 92 m Sunset Drive West · 92 m Londres II · 91 m Torre Sakura · 91 m Costa Blanca II · 90 m Coblanca 40 Torre 1 · 89.3 m Coblanca 40 Torre 2 · 89.3 m Hotel Meliá Benidorm · 89.3 m Hotel Meliá Benidorm Torre 2 · 89.3 m Principado Marina · 89.3 m Edificio Circo · 89.2 m Torre Benidorm · 89 m Cibeles 1 · 88 m Cibeles 2 · 88 m Sunset Cliffs Torre 1 · 86.7 m Balcón de Poniente 1 · 86 m Balcón de Poniente 2 · 86 m Coblanca 37 · 86 m Eagle Tower · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 1 · 86 m Edificio El Olivar 2 · 86 m Sierra de Bernia 1 · 85.9 m Sierra de Bernia 2 · 85.9 m Torre Capri · 85.9 m Torre San Remo · 85.9 m Gemelos 12 Torre 1 · 85 m Gemelos 12 Torre 2 · 85 m Las Damas · 85 m Sandos Benidorm Suites · 83 m Residencial Miranda 1 · 82.6 m Residencial Miranda 2 · 82.6 m Hotel RH Victoria · 82 m Parque Europa 1 · 82 m Parque Europa 2 · 82 m Parque Europa 3 · 82 m Torre Europa · 82 m Coblanca 32 B · 81.1 m Old town

The story

The Edificio Circo was completed in 1974. At 89.2 metres and 27 floors it ranks 50th in the list of tallest buildings in Benidorm. In that list of 68 buildings of 80 metres or more, only four were built before 1980: Torre Coblanca, Torre Benidorm, Las Damas and the Circo. The building is thus a witness to the first high-rise wave, when the city filled up with charter flights after the opening of El Altet airport.

The address is Avenida del Mediterráneo 23. This street is Benidorm’s main axis: it runs on the second line from the beach along the whole of the Playa de Levante and connects the centre with Rincón de Loix. Calle Gerona with its pubs runs parallel. The Circo stands on the western section, close to the centre, according to holiday-let portals about one and a half kilometres from the Mal Pas and Poniente beaches.

The sources yield no more than that. Who built the building, who designed it and where the name comes from is not documented in any of the sources reviewed. Today it is used as a residential building; individual apartments are let to holidaymakers, with sea and city views but no pool.

Good to know

  • Completed in 1974, 27 floors, 89.2 metres – 50th in Benidorm.
  • One of only four buildings over 80 metres built before 1980.
  • Address: Avenida del Mediterráneo 23, Levante area.

Open questions

  • Developer, architect and contractor are not documented.
  • The origin of the name ‘Circo’ is unexplained.
  • The height of 89.2 metres comes solely from the old Emporis database (via Wikipedia); SkyDB gives no height.

Sources