Why is this chimney still standing while the rest of the factory vanished? It is a curious survivor in Sant Adrià de Besòs - a pillar of exposed ceramic brick that now stands in the middle of a shopping center.
The site originally belonged to the Companyia Espanyola per a la Fabricació Mecànica del Vidre S.A, known as CELO. They started in 1923 and used the Libbey-Owens process, which was the high-tech way to make high-quality flat glass back then. The location was chosen for its proximity to the railway line for materials and distribution, as well as its proximity to thermal power plants.
In 1985, the factory complex was demolished, leaving only the chimney. It has some pretty fancy masonry, including arched decorations on the base and a geometric frieze near the top. Now, you can see it while doing your shopping, a ghost of a massive industrial past.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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