La Carbonería

Squatters helped save the oldest building in Barcelona’s Eixample District. The apartment bulding, originally designed by Narciso Tarragó Alexandri,  was built in 1864 on the corner of Comtes d’Urgell and Floridablanca streets.

During the first half of the 20th century it was used for coal storage, earning it the nickname “La Carboneria.” After the coal house closed in 1950 the building fell into decline and deteriorated. In 2008 the building was occupied by a social-activist collective and became the city’s most famous “okupa” (squatter) house and during the struggle to resist eviction the facade was painted with a large mural of an abstract black and white tree. La Carbonería became one of the most photographed buildings in Barcelona after the original tree mural was replaced with a spectacular painting of a colorful hot air balloon with one of the building’s balconies serving as its basket.

In February 2014, police evicted the squatters and the new owners obliterated the beloved mural with a coat of drab brown paint. La Carbonería was scheduled to be demolished, but was saved when the city council re-categorized it as being of historic and artistic interest. In a final irony, in 2022 the building, which rose to fame as a hotbed of social activism, was converted into luxury apartments and dressed with a bland anodyne facade.