Architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto's 1933 Casablanca Ballroom in Madrid Featured Symmetrical Piano Design Anomaly

Architect Luis Gutiérrez Soto designed the Casablanca ballroom in Madrid in 1933, a popular nightlife venue that has since disappeared. The architectural plans for the dance hall reveal a curious detail: two pianos flanking the orchestra platform, one with a standard grand piano shape and the other with a reversed, mirror-image configuration. This symmetrical arrangement appears in both ground floor and upper floor drawings, though historical photographs show only conventional pianos were actually installed. Gutiérrez Soto, known for his prolific career including multiple cabarets and entertainment venues, created the Casablanca during a period of pre-Civil War optimism in Madrid. The design showcases sophisticated architectural drafting with deliberate symmetry and geometric interplay between balconies, staircases, and performance platforms. The reversed piano may represent either a drafting error or an aesthetic choice to achieve visual balance in the drawings. The article examines this architectural anomaly while reflecting on the cultural context of 1930s Madrid nightlife, where venues like Casablanca represented cosmopolitan sophistication amid broader social contrasts.