Junta de Obras del Puerto (Port Authority)
On the Moll de Bosch i Alsina quay we can find this historic building of the Barcelona Port Authority (in Catalan: edifici de la Junta d’Obres del Port). It is located right in the centre of the Old Port on the Rambla de Mar and at the harbour end of the legendary shopping street La Rambla. It was built in 1903-07 according to a project by the civil engineer Julio Valdés, who was deputy director of the port at the time. It was planned as a passenger terminal with post and customs offices. The restaurant El Mundial Palace was added on the upper floor and a year after opening, a trade museum was also opened in the building. In 1918, the building became the headquarters of the Barcelona Port Authority. It retained this function until 2010, when the Port Authority moved to the World Trade Center. In recent years, it has been thoroughly renovated (pictured here before the renovation).
Beaux-Arts architecture
The building by Julio Valdés Humaran was designed in the eclectic style, inspired by French Beaux-Arts palaces and casinos. It has a rectangular floor plan with a ground floor and an upper floor, and towers at the four corners. The façades are elaborately decorated and the portal is crowned with a group of figures.
The sculptural group Barcelona protege la Marina y el Comercio
Above the main portal of the building there is the sculptural group “Barcelona protects the marina and commerce”. It was created by Joan Serra Pau in 1907. As a crowned queen, the city of Barcelona is enthroned above the figures of Commerce and the Navy. On the right we see the god Mercury, who represents commerce. He wears a winged helmet and sits on a box, carrying a bundle with both arms. On the left, a young woman symbolises the navy, her right arm leaning on an oar wheel while her left arm rests on an anchor. On both sides of this group we find winged lions on the following steps. The rest of the wreath of the building is crowned by other maritime sculptures, tritons, boats as well as an effigy of Poseidon and cornucopias.
In front of the building stands a statue of the entrepreneur and politician Rómulo Bosch y Alsina.
This streetline view is still unfinished and can only be seen here as a preview.
More information on the building can be found in the Spanish Wikipedia.
