Etxebarri Parkea

This guide to Etxebarri Parkea in Bilbao follows the Echevarria family foundry that grew from a farmhouse bought in 1878 into a nail-making works shipping crates to markets on nearly every continent, then modernized with the German firm Siemens in the 1890s. It traces the foundry's collapse through the 1970s and 80s as Spain's heavy industry crumbled, and the city's 1987 decision to buy the ruined site, clear it, and plant grass rather than sell to developers. Look up at the single brick chimney left standing among the lawns as you walk.