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 Lampa. Prior to this renaming, each block (cuadra) had a unique name:
Block 3: Santa Apolonia, after the chapel of the same name.[4]
Block 4: Carrera, after a bakery owned by Pedro Carrera.[5]
Block 5: Picantería, possibly after a food establishment of the same type.[6]
Block 6: San Antonio, after the counts of San Antonio de Vistaalegre, who lived there.[7]
Block 7: Pileta de la Trinidad, after the fountain of the same name.[8]
Block 8: Fano, after a neighbour not conclusively identified. One of the residents here was Dr. Manuel Atanasio Fuentes, whose home was the place where the members of the wartime government of Francisco García Calderón met.[9]
Block 9: Pobres, after its early inhabitants: people of low income.[10]
Block 10: Cádices, after the family of Miguel de Cádiz, who lived there.[11]
Block 11: Sauce, possibly after a willow located there.[12]
On July 28, 2000,[13][14] amid the protests known as the Four Quarters March, a fire began inside the building of the Bank of the Nation, located in the intersection with La Colmena Avenue. Despite claims by Minister of the InteriorWalter Chacón of the opposite, the fire was caused by an explosion on the building's third floor which caused the structural integrity of the building's lower floors to be compromised, causing them to collapse and worsen the gravity of the situation.[15] As a result, 6 security guards were killed in fire.[16]
^"Sí, hubo explosión: Ocurrió en el tercer piso y provocó caida parcial del edificio del Banco de la Nación". La República. 2000-08-13. p. 3. La explosión en el tercer piso habría provocado la destrucción de las paredes, el rompimiento de las columnas y el desmoronamiento de los techos. El incendio no pudo causar tal desastre.