[1] The street was formerly a thalweg partially along which the Arroyo de la Castellana flowed towards its emptying in the Abroñigal.

[6] In the 1930s, during the Second Republic, the Minister Indalecio Prieto and Architect Secundino Zuazo gave the necessary boost for the expansion of the street towards the north, linked to the project of Nuevos Ministerios.

During the dictatorship, the stretch north of the crossroads with Raimundo Fernández Villaverde and Joaquín Costa was named "Avenida del Generalísimo".

The street starts at Plaza de Colón,[10] ending at its junction with the M-30 ring road,[10] the so-called Nudo Norte.

[12] Other landmarks found along this street include the Palacio de Congresos,[12] the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence,[12] and the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.