The Jardín de los Caídos (Garden of the Fallen), known from its origins as the «Jardín de los Mártires» (Garden of the Martyrs), was the first landscaped space for the recreation of the population. It was designed in 1939, on the site of the former national schools with the teachers’ houses and the entrances to the air-raid shelters of the Spanish Civil War, used to protect the inhabitants of Alcantarilla during the war, due to its proximity to the Area Base and the Gunpowder Factory.
The garden, created in 1940 by the municipal master builder Andrés Cánovas and Salvador Sáez, was presided over by a monumental cross in memory of and in homage to those who died during the war. Flanked by palm trees and other native plants, the garden included a fishpond behind the cross. In the background, the building of the first Municipal Public Library, created in 1956.
Over the years, the remodeling of the garden has changed its appearance. It was renamed Plaza de la Constitución in 1982, although it is popularly known as «Jardín de las Palomas» (Pigeon Garden).
This garden was installed in the main artery of Alcantarilla for its ornamentation and attractiveness after the Civil War, and since its origins it has been the nerve centre of the town.