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Since the mid-19th century, the seasonal population of San Lorenzo, mostly from Madrid, formed a new bourgeois "Court" attracted by the healthiness of the place and its scenic and monumental attractions.
Nowadays, the most recognisable "elegant" neighbourhood of the early 20th century, and the one that preserves the greatest number of buildings, is undoubtedly El Plantel, built on the confiscated lands of Philip II's former fruit tree nursery behind the Casa de la Compañía and the Casa de Infantes buildings. By 1912, its subdivision and road layout had already been resolved based on a main street called Leandro Rubio.
In the Colonia El Plantel, the Neo-Mudéjar style predominates, characterised by decorative brick friezes and panels, large pronounced wooden eaves on brackets, and flat red tile roofing; according to a local newspaper, "as a whole it presents a distinguished appearance" according to the taste of the time; the new neighbourhood even had its own water supply during moments of general shortage in San Lorenzo.
Their buildings will be some residential buildings and large holiday homes surrounded by significant gardens for the Madrid bourgeoisie.
Among them, the villas «El Capricho» (c/ Leandro Rubio 4), «Toki-Ona» (c/ Coronel de Diego 6), «Villa Paz» (c/ San Conrado 7), «Villa Conchita» (c/ Leandro Rubio 7), «Villa Manolita» (c/ Leandro Rubio 9), «Villa Augusta» (c/ Leandro Rubio 13), and especially the villa «Cumbres Altas» (c/ Marqués de Borja 1) are noteworthy.
El Plantel is one of the most unique historical neighbourhoods in San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Emerging at the beginning of the 20th century on former lands linked to Philip II, it preserves bourgeois villas, gardens and outstanding examples of Neo-Mudéjar architecture.