The stately mansion, located at the intersection of Pedro Jover and La Reina streets in Almería's historic center, is set for extensive rehabilitation. Its current owners, the Miras family, have initiated this project to restore the building's former glory. The Balcázar pharmacy, which occupied the ground floor, has temporarily relocated to facilitate the renovation work.
Known as the 'Casa Grande', this edifice was constructed by the influential exporting family Spencer and Roda in the late 19th century, spanning an entire block. Initially, the street where it stood was called Arsenal, before being renamed in honor of Pedro Jover, a former mayor and deputy to the Cortes. The mansion stretched from the current La Reina street (formerly Rambla de Gorman) to Atarazanas street, boasting over twenty rooms, a terrace with a telescope, a vineyard, gardens, and a water basin.
The mansion hosted distinguished guests such as the ministers who accompanied Isabel II on her trip to Almería in 1862 and her son Alfonso XII in 1877, the travel writer Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, and for years, the Russian embassy was located on the ground floor, precisely where an optician's shop stands today.
The Spencer and Roda families dominated Almerian maritime trade for over half a century, using the 'Casa Grande' as their operational center and offices. The house also housed the Female Teacher Training School in the 1920s. However, the economic ruin of the Spencer and Roda trading house forced them to abandon the property. The last residents, until 1911, were Francisco Roda with his wife Pepita Álvarez-Osorio y Luca de Tena (founders of ABC) and their daughter Fernanda, as well as his brother Tomás Roda and his wife María Martínez Leal de Ibarra. Over the decades, the house has undergone various transformations and divisions into multiple properties.
