The original idea to create a national monument to commemorate Christopher Columbus was promoted by Isabella II in 1864, yet the 1868 Glorious Revolution aborted the project.

[1] Later in time, the idea was resumed as the project could serve as commemoration of the upcoming marriage between Alfonso XII and María de las Mercedes.

[4] It was intended to be inaugurated on 4 January 1886, yet the death of the monarch aborted the event.

[4] The 3.30 m high statue, a work in Carrara marble by Jerónimo Suñol featuring Columbus holding a flag of Castile, was delivered to the Ayuntamiento de Madrid in 1892.

[5] The monument was dismantled in 1976 and moved a year later to a nearby location in the Jardines del Descubrimiento.