The street starts at its intersection with the Jirón de la Unión and continues until it reaches Miguel Grau Avenue.

The road that today constitutes the street was laid by Francisco Pizarro when he founded the city of Lima on January 18, 1535.

Prior to this renaming, each block (cuadra) had a unique name: The Edificio Fabbri, whose construction concluded in 1890, is located in the street.

During the 17th century, it belonged to the heirs of Pedro Gavilán y González de la Torre, thus acquiring the name of the "Casa de los Gavilanes" (a play-on-words on the heirs' family name).

It was acquired in 1867 by the Peruvian State to house its official printing press, organised by Manuel Atanasio Fuentes [es].