The first water tower in the Eixample is an exposed-brick reservoir built in 1867. Its purpose was to supply the expanding city under engineer Ildefons Cerdà’s new grid-based plan, a vision of Barcelona without walls. Set within a leafy city block, this unassuming 24-metre cylinder rises quietly. It is not monumental, but it is essential: a modest piece of industrial heritage that still stands, apart from the bustle. To look at it is to be reminded that, sometimes, a city is built from what is unseen.
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Water supply in the new Eixample benefited from this tower, which helped increase water pressure.
Over time, the tower became obsolete. In 1987, the City Council created a public garden within the block: a small oasis imbued with memory.
