Macosa

This industrial sightseeing trail wouldn't be complete without a visit to the last surviving elements of the former factory of Can Girona, which was owned by iron and steel manufacturer, MACOSA.

The company built the last industrial chimney in Barcelona in 1950. It is also the tallest in the city, standing 65.3 meters high. The MACOSA chimney has an unusual prism-shaped decagonal shaft. It was built from sections of concrete, the most popular building material at the time.

MACOSA was founded in the mid-19th century. It was initially a foundry in Barcelona's Sant Martí district but years later it became a leading builder of trains, buses and trams. At its peak, MACOSA had a workforce of 1,200 people. It was also the cradle of the first trade union movements after the Spanish Civil War.

In 1989, it entered into a merger with the Barcelona-based La Maquinista Terrestre i Marítima and the French company GEC-Alstom. MACOSA's industrial buildings, which covered an area of 164,000m², were demolished as a result of the urban redevelopment plan for the Diagonal Mar and 22 @ districts. Only the chimney survives as one of the last relics of the industrial architecture of the Poblenou district.