The first time I discovered the Arxiu Historic de Poblenou (AHPN) it was a by mistake. I was looking for something that apparently doesn’t exist- the Centro de Cultura Industrial de Barcelona (CCIB). I had seen this website from the 22@ project which talked about it.

Asimismo, se prevé la creación del Centro de la Cultura Industrial de Barcelona, que se situará en Can Saladrigas (Roncar, 22), donde se desarrollarán un conjunto de iniciativas y dispositivos de difusión del patrimonio industria

I went to Can Saladrigas. 

And nobody had any idea but thought maybe I should check at Can Felipa. I went to Can Felipa.

And still nobody had any idea. But what I thought was a dead end took an exciting twist when, instead of the CCIB, I found something else.

I walked up three flights of steps and came upon the AHPN: a room about the size of your grandma’s kitchen, one wall shelved and stacked with fat binders and the rest occupied by a desk, a small table, and a smiling bearded guy: Jordi Fossas.

The Arxiu was started in 1974. It is a neighborhood initiative, run by volunteers. In the words of Jordi Fossas: it’s not like an institution, it’s like Podemos. That was supposed to be a joke more than a political statement and we laughed. Then Jordi got serious. “Are you a Barca fan?” No, actually that was supposed to be another joke.

I asked if there was some sort of organization of work for the volunteers and Jordi handed me an organizational chart. I was endeared to notice that only first names are used. Also, there are no lines connecting departments or suggesting a hierarchy. It looks like someone just made a bunch of text boxes and clustered names into catagories.

[Arxiu] [Atencio al Public] [Revita/Editorial] [Sortides] [Relacions Institucionals] [Web+Mail+Newsletter] [Socis] [Torre] [Tresoreria] [Recerca] [Escoles] [Coordinadora D’Entitats Poblenou] [Xarxes Socials] [Revista AAVV] [Imagen I Fotos] [Inventari Editorial]

Ok, it doesn’t just look like that, that is exactly what it is. And if you are like me, there is one category in here that has you intrigued. Torre?

From what I gather, the situation is this. City Hall owns the building. The governmental branch in charge of it is called ICUB (Instituto de Cultura de Barcelona). The ICUB put it into the hands of the MUHBA (Museo de Historia de Barcelona), but the MUHBA was busy with other things so they gave it to the AHPN to manage.

In the end, the AHPN gets 9,500 euros a year from City Hall to keep the building clean and open to the public. There is another building beside the tower called the gear room or something. The AHPN was sold that for 600 euros by the local government with a 20-year contract. That building is to be the eventual home of the Arxiu, but at the moment the process is held up by a lack of funds to complete the construction of a second floor. On the first floor is to be an exhibit space and on the third floor an auditorium area.

Back to the tower. Like I said, every year the AHPN works out a one-year contract to get that 9,500 euros. Over time, the idea is that the amount will go down as the museum project gets off the ground and can begin to pay more of the operating costs. For the moment, the project is only two years old, and it is still mostly on the ground. One of the problems is that, while the tower is open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays for guided tours, there has been no real museography effort. Originally, the museography was going to come from the MUHBA, but things have gotten stalled up at some point.

As Jordi Fossas puts it, at the moment all the explanation of the building is audio. That’s because, as you climb the steps during a tour, your guide can explain things. But what about the sound? What about the smell? What about the social and technical context of this building?

There is an exciting museography project here, but not only that. Musealizing this water tower could also be a part of other efforts to help establish a cultural facility in a neighborhood dominated by big hotels and lacking in civic spaces. The plaza surrounding the water tower should be kept in mind as the cultural potential of this space is considered.

In what ways can local constituencies get involved? What about the local neighbor associations, schools, and music venues? How can this old brick building be transformed into heritage and be equipped as a resource for the community?

Check out the AHPN website here, and consider taking a tour of the torre. Or even volunteering?

Found a neat blog from the past called Patrimono Industrial de Barcelona.

It was mostly active in 2009, run by a guy/girl called Chimevapor. The same person also ran a blog called Sudor, vapor y lágrimas. Patrimonio Industrial.

These blogs are interesting to me becuase they have introduced me to a huge list of places to visit around Barcelona. I copy/pasted the table of contents from  Patrimono Industrial de Barcelona so that you take a look at the titles of the posts, in chronological reverse order.

• ▼  2011 

  • Torre de Aguas de Sarriá 

• ▼  2010 (2)

  • Alicante Vivo: ¿LA HISTORIA SE REPETIRÁ?  Adios y doy las gracias a tod@s los lectores

• ▼  2009 (48)

  • Exposición “Las Colonias Industriales”   Los Almacenes Generales de Comercio (Palau de Mar)…   La Fábrica Can Ricart del Raval  La Paloma. Una Sala de Fiestas con auténtico pasad…   La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima de Sant Andreu   La Torre de las Aguas de Can Girona   La Fábrica de vidrio soplado de “El Poble Espanyol…   La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima de la Barcelone…   La riada de 1962, El gran “Puente Textil” Barcelon…   El tren eléctrico de la “Mina Grott”   Los trenes de vapor del Parc del Castell de l’Oren…   El Parc de la “Pegaso”   La Fábrica de harina “San Jaime” ó “Farinera del C…   Torre de las aguas del Tibidabo   Edificio de la antigua Editorial Montaner y Simón   ¡ Vacaciones 2009 !, ¡ gracias y hasta Septiembre …   Edificio Salvat Editores   Edificio Myrurgia   La fábrica Can Batlló de “La Bordeta” (Sants)   El Rec Comtal…S.O.S., peligro   El “Parc del Clot”, antiguos talleres ferroviarios…   El Pantano de Vallvidrera  Salvemos el Teatro Bretón de Salamanca!  Curioso artículo de Hemeroteca…  Las naves modernistas del barrio de “Sant Pere”   Galletas y chocolates Solsona Rius  La “Casa del Agua”   Fábrica “Manufacturas Serra Balet” de Sants   La fábrica “Bonaventura Costa Font”   La Unión Metalúrgica   Escuela Municipal de Artes y Oficios de Barcelona   La Torre de las Aguas de “La dreta de l’Eixample”   La fábrica “Can Batlló” y la Escola Industrial   La Sedeta   El “Vapor Vell” de Sants   La Torre Jaume I y la Torre Sant Sebastiá   “Central Catalana de Electricidad”   Fábrica de harina “La Asunción”   La estación de Francia   El “Edifici de les Aigües”   La fábrica de gas de la Barceloneta   Antigua fábrica de cerveza Damm, “La Bohemia”.   “Casaramona”. La fábrica modernista   Talleres gráficos M. y R. Gilabert (MYRGA)   La fábrica de cerveza “Moritz”   Las tres chimeneas Fecsa   Antigua fábrica “Ca l’Aranyó”. Nuevo uso   Antigua fábrica de moneda “La Seca”  

• ▼  2008 (3)

  • Can Saládrigas, nuevo uso  El Raval industrial   La Barcelona del siglo XIX  

Also interesting is the use of blog networks as a sort of musealization tool. It seems like Chimevapor is an amateur industrial heritage enthusiast who wants to help educate those of us who don’t know much about the industrial history and heritage of Barcelona.

It’s interesting that this person remained anonymous. That’s something you can get away with on the web. In the industrial heritage movement, where amateurs often seem to be taking the lead, the internet is a vital tool.

I get the feeling that “amateur” can be a damning word for the industrial heritage movement. From my readings from the Jornadas de Arqueologia Industrial de Catalunya (a conference held every 3 years from 1988-present), I can’t help but sense that I’m listening in to the meetings of a newly-formed community attempting to establish themselves as academically serious. It’s like a sub-culture. And even though blogs are powerful tools, they feel a little sub-culturey too.

An important feature of blogs is creating networks. You can easily receive comments, and hyperlink to other pages. There are a number of comments on these blogs from people working on academic projects. I was surprised to also see this comment:

hola, soy editora de un libro sobre patrimonio industrial y, para redactarlo, el autor ha consultado tu blog. Me gustaría hacerte constar en la página de documentación y necesito tu nombre. Por favor, contacta conmigo en cuanto antes.

Is that for real?

Another part of this network creation involves linking to other pages. It’s something I will have to figure out for this blog eventually. Chimevapor recommends the following blogs, some of which are still active today:

• http://www.arqueologiaypatrimonioindustrial.com/ From the revista Monsacro who also has an active twitter feed: https://twitter.com/revistamonsacro
• http://avpiop.com/  Asociación Vasca de Patrimonio Industrial y Obra Pública (AVPIOP)
• http://patrimonioindustrialcoiim.blogspot.com.es/  El Proyecto de Patrimonio Industrial del Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Industriales de Madrid
• And others….

I’d like to explore these blog networks more. Who are the people that make up these communities? What are they talking, and not talking, about? What are the practices they employ in their musealization efforts?

Chimevapor, can you help me with some of these questions?

My name is Ned, and I’m working on a PhD at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona on the topic of “The Musealization of Barcelona’s Industrial Heritage.” This blog is a way for me to share some of what I’m learning about, and also to get feedback from others. The first post was from a trip I took to a historic Barcelona foundry, Casa Parés, last month. Talking with the owner, José, and touring the site was a big highlight for me. It inspired me to bring my research into the first person, and get out there to visit some of the important places and people related to my topic.

So where should I go next? And who will be my guide? This is my list so far. Am I missing something?

• MUHBA Industrial Sites: Torre de Aigües de Besos, Sala del Calderes de Fabra i Coats, Fabrica Oliva Artés
• Sites in the news: Can Batllo de Sants, Can Ricart, Can Seixanta, Mercado del Born, Central Térmica del Besós
• Reused buildings: Vapor Vell de Sants (biblioteca), Fábrica Casaramona (CaixaForum)

I’ll add more to this list soon. In the meantime, feedback is welcome!