This building was constructed in 1917 to be used as a bonded warehouse and was designed by Gregorio Ibarreche. Effectively it was a shed by the river, but a very grand one and there were ones of a similar design in London and Liverpool. A bonded warehouse was used for storing imported goods before customs duties had been paid and would have been central to the city’s trade.
There’s not a great deal else left of the building now as the heart of the port moved further away from this central stretch of the river and the former docks area became redundant. In Bilbao’s case, the Guggenheim Museum was built nearby as part of the area’s wider modernisation, transforming what had once been a working port landscape into one of the city’s most recognisable contemporary spaces.
The interior was demolished in the mid-1990s and although it’s a shame that the building has nearly entirely been lost, at least some survives.