The iron Puente de Isabel II, circa 1910
Puente De La Barqueta (the boatman)was designed and built as part of Seville's Expo '92,
which celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Spanish discovery of the Americas
Expo 92 saw the creation of a wide boardwalk for locals and visitors to stroll on and
enjoy the offerings of a clean waterway.
Spanish sculptor Chilida designs massive, solid forms from cement and steel
Squatters find a perfect outdoor shelter along the banks of the Guadalquivir, where
it is cooler and quieter. |
EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNAL April 12, 1999
Calle Conde de Barajas, Seville
The River II
A company was established to cut new routes and remove ballast and
large sandbars from the Guadalquivir. Shipping companies, industrialists and property
owners got together and devised a plan to regenerate and control the river. In 1852 a
thoroughly modern, Art Nouveau-inspired iron bridge, Puente Isabel II was
inaugurated.
In 1900 the first anti-flood plan was drawn up, with a lock to regulate
the river’s flow, but the age-old problem of shallowness continued and in 1909 work
was begun for yet another channel and a canal. The 1929 Ibero-American Exposition spurred
motivation to restore the neglected riverfront. All the while silting continued and the
river was barely a river by the time Seville won the honour of hosting the 1992 World
Exposition. Five more unique, artistic bridges were constructed to connect the city and
highways north and west. The railway that followed the length of the river was rerouted
and a wide boardwalk was constructed for visitors to stroll and enjoy the offerings of a
clean, manageable waterway.
Today the river is speckled with rowers and holidaymakers in
paddleboats. There is an eleven-hour cruise one can take all the way to the river’s
Atlantic mouth, near Huelva. Fishermen stand on the banks with long poles, casting off in
search of grey mullet and shad. Lovers lie together under flourishing wisteria and
hibiscus. Cafes flank the water’s edge, with arbours for shade, offering ice-cold
beer and fried squid and cuttlefish. The young people gather at floating barges for disco,
or are content to congregate in thousands on the banks with whiskey and their mopeds. And
the Puente Isabel II? It groans and rattles with the crossing commuter buses. It
arcs with classic, perfect Nouveau design, silhouetted by the setting Andalusian sun. And
its cobblestone is squeaky and mottled from a hundred thousand dribbles of Semana Santa
candlewax. The cyclical recovery of the river as a lush and pleasant respite from the
warmth and bustle of the city continues to introduce new dimensions to the quality of life
in Seville. |
The Art Nuveau-inspired iron bridge, Puente Isabel II has provided safe passage
across the river for almost 150 years.
A canopy designed to look like sails covers the pedestrian thoroughfare of the Puente de
Chapina providing needed shade in the summer. the bridge crosses over to the Expo's
Pavillion of Navigation
Today the river is speckled with rowers and holidaymakers in paddleboats.
Sara is drawfed by a tower of the Expo 92 gondol- yet another way to cross the river
A squatter's existence under one of the bridges has everything but walls...and
privacy. |
