The ruins of the unrestored part of the old 'La Metalúrgica' factory, in Vigo

On Avenida de García Barbón, one of the main thoroughfares in the city center of Vigo, there are some old factory ruins.

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The establishment of this factory was linked to the city's important canning industry. The blog Architecture and Urban Planning of Vigo recalled that in 1899 this important industry suffered from a shortage of containers that forced a halt to production, because these materials were brought in from Bilbao or England.

In 1900, businessmen Antonio Alonso Santodomingo, José Barreras Massó, and Guillermo Curbera Tapias launched the limited company La Metalúrgica, which was the first tinplate lithography company to operate in Galicia, according to the aforementioned blog. José Suárez Pumariega was its first managing director.

Vigo City Council recalls what the building originally looked like: "The first building was designed by José Barreras Massó in an eclectic style. It originally consisted of a two-story central section and two single-story side sections. The construction method is characterized by the combination of stonework in certain areas, such as the plinth, pilasters, and window and door surrounds, with plastered brick walls. On the ground floor is the main entrance under a segmental arch supported by fluted pilasters, while the openings on this floor and the upper floor are paired and topped with a semicircular arch, also supported by pilasters. The building is crowned by a curved cornice divided by a higher element with the company name and the year of its founding."

In 1917, the first expansion was carried out by the architect Jenaro de la Fuente Domínguez, followed by a second in 1938 by the architect Francisco Castro Represas. Both expansions preserved the building's original style and symmetry, adding lateral wings. The factory finally closed in the 1970s, during a difficult time for the local canning industry. However, this was not the end of its story.

The La Metalúrgica building became a fire station and was later used as a garage for the National Police. When I was a child in the 1980s, I remember seeing police cars leaving there. By then, the building was already in very poor condition.

According to Faro de Vigo, in 2005 the Social Security Administration bought part of the La Metalúrgica site from the National Police for 10.8 million euros, in order to build a new headquarters for the Provincial Directorate of the General Treasury of Social Security. The works took many years to complete. According to Vigopedia.com, works for the new building began in May 2016 and it was finally inaugurated at the beginning of 2020, after the original factory buildings were demolished and only the facade remained.

Currently, the original façade of La Metalúrgica has only been repaired and painted on the left side, where the new Social Security building stands, with its glass façade, occupying the site of the former National Police garages. The right side of the factory building, including its original 1900 façade, remains unrestored and completely abandoned. The following ten photos were taken on May 1st and show different parts of the exterior and interior of the original building.

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Main photo: Ayuntamiento de Vigo.