The road that today constitutes the street was laid by
Francisco Pizarro when he founded the city of Lima on January 18, 1535. In 1862, when a new urban nomenclature was adopted, the road was named jirón
Arequipa. Prior to this renaming, each block (
cuadra) had a unique name: • Block 1:
Juan de la Coba, after the man of the same name who lived there in the 17th century. • Block 2:
Trapitos, for reasons not known. • Block 3:
Compás de la Concepción, after the part of the convent of the same name not yet built, known as a
compás. • Block 4:
Cascarilla, after the fever-treating bark of the same name sold by the
Jesuits. • Block 5:
Santa María, after the title of the noble family that lived there. The
Public Ministry Building is located here. • Block 6:
Sagástegui, possibly also "Sagasti" or "Zugasti" after people who possibly lived there. • Block 7:
Pileta de Santa Teresa, after the church of the same name. The area's appearance was heavily affected by the widening programme. • Block 8:
Hospicio de Cándamo. • Block 9:
Zepita. With the street widening programme in the 20th century, new blocks were created along the avenue. • When the avenue was expanded to the north, through the
Convent of San Francisco, the current first block was created. • When the eastern section of
Nicolás de Piérola Avenue was created,
Hospicio de Cándamo Street was divided, forming the current block 10 of the avenue. ==See also==