Casa Paquet

In Gijón/Xixón there is a representative expression of the outstanding presence that Casa Paquet had and has in the life of the city: when someone asks for something and, instead of giving it to them, they indiscreetly ask “for what?”, it is likely that the answer is “for what?, Paqué lives on the dock!”.
A century after its construction, Casa Paquet is still one of our most iconic buildings today. Located between Claudio Alvargonzález and Oscar Olavarría streets and facing the Plaza de Fermín García Bernardo, its profile attracts attention both from the Plaza del Marqués and if we are located in the Jardines de la Reina or in the Marina. Along with the Revillagigedo Palace and its chapel, the Collegiate Church of San Juan Bautista, on the southern façade of Cimavilla; a historic neighborhood that was the origin of the current city and has been declared an Asset of Cultural Interest.
The Paquet Family
During the twentieth century, the Paquet family became one of the most significant of the local bourgeoisie. His presence in Asturias is due to the figure of José Paquet Guiguet, who arrived in Gijón/Xixón from France in the second half of the nineteenth century and ended up joining the Unión Hullera y Metalúrgica de Asturias, a company in which he provided his services until his death in 1891. Married to Eustaquia García-Rendueles Bada from Gijón, it was his sons Alberto and Julio, who definitively consolidated the Paquet surname in the region. From their youth, they had a diversified business activity, either alone or associated with other relevant families such as the Urquijo or the Alvargonzález.
Alberto Paquet García-Rendueles (1876-1960) obtained his first great business success with the creation of the Compañía Asturiana de Artes Gráficas, of which he was manager since its inception in 1901. Initially associated with Julio García Mencía and with the shareholder support of other notorious surnames of the Gijón bourgeoisie, the firm remained for decades one of the most reputable houses in Asturias within its sector. In 1914, coinciding with the boom in maritime transport and the growth of exports during World War I, Alberto founded the consignee firm “A. Paquet”.