WHAT TO SEE
Felipa Bustingorri – Route around Getxo’s stately homes
Photograph on loan from Getxoko Liburutegiak – Getxo Municipal Libraries.
If Felipa Bustingorri had been born in this century she would have been called an entrepreneur, but she probably would not have found it easy in her day to realise her business project, as she chose to launch a business involving the incipient fashion of sea-bathing. Furthermore, it was not common to see a woman in management, but because she was a widow, Felipa was allowed to open her own business.
The route begins in the square beside the Puente Bizkaia transporter bridge, where families of holidaymakers arrived from Bilbao ready to enjoy the Bay of Biscay’s delights and the entertainment Getxo provided.
As you follow the route, try to imagine the hustle and bustle in summer on the huge beach in Las Arenas around the buildings along its seafront, then have a txonbo (which is how we say a quick dip in these parts), and take a stroll along the avenue Avenida Zugazarte, passing palaces (Valdés, Bake Eder and Churruca) until you come to one of today’s popular areas of bars and shops in Getxo.
FELIPA BUSTINGORRI (1831-1924)
Her father was born in Ustaritz, in the French Basque Country (Iparralde in Basque) and her mother hailed from Zeanuri, here in Bizkaia, Felipa was born in Bilbao. Like her brothers, José Celestino and Pedro Lucio, she also had a compound name: Felipa Teresa Bustingorri Abasolo.
Although she had several businesses, she is best remembered for being the owner of a bathing house beside Las Arenas Beach, at a time when health and wellness tourism was considered a novel pastime.
Her establishment was so successful that Felipa even appeared on the local 'Forbes list' in 1893, which included some of Getxo’s biggest landowners. This list was headed by the family of a businessman called Máximo Aguirre (owner of the first spa), while Felipa was in 11th position, and the only woman on it.
1. Andrés Isasi music school (1927)
Formerly a community centre run by local people, since 1989 it has been the Andrés Isasi Music School. Its original design was by T. Bilbao and H. Imaz.
2. Housing block (1899, 1990).
Designed by Ángel Iturralde, it is a remarkably old example of this type of housing block, and it is noteworthy for its Beaux-Arts style.
3. Church of Las Mercedes (1887, 1939).
Following its destruction in 1937, the present design corresponds to Rafael de Garamendi and Manuel Galíndez (with the paintings inside by Alfonso Ramil)..
4. Cristina etxea/house (1894, 1941, 1980).
This is where the architect Alberto de Palacio Elissague spent his summers and eventually died. He designed the Puente Bizkaia transporter bridge, which UNESCO declared a World Heritage Site in 2006.
5. Kaigane house (1889, 1907).
Dating from the same time as Felipa Bustingorri’s bathing house, with an initial design by Achúcarro and subsequent refurbishment by M. Mª Smith, with an arrangement of English decorative features.
6. Villa ABCD (1869, 1877, 1894, 1909).
This is the only part that remains of the Establecimiento de Baños de Mar Bilbaínos, the first spa in Las Arenas. Refurbished by, among others, Borda and Garamendi.
7. The yacht club Real Club Marítimo del Abra | Real Sporting Club (1975).
Standing on the site of the main body of the Establecimiento de Baños de Mar Bilbaínos, it was re-built in 1975 according to a design by Eulate and Aguinaga Churruca.
8. Amandrerena House (1877, 1909, 1941)
This was one of the first summer houses built in Las Arenas. Its name is a combination of the Basque words amandre 'grandmother' and the suffix -rena, meaning “grandmother’s place'.
9. Villa Itsas begi (1927).
Built by R. Garamendi, it is an example of the influence of popular Neo-Basque architecture, although full of noble features that provide a palatial appearance.
10. Villa Lekobide (1902).
Originally a single-family home, it was designed by Severino Achúcarro, one of the architects most in demand at that time (see stop no. 3 -before it was destroyed- and stop no. 5).
11. Semi-detached town houses (1913)
A development by Emiliano Amann, which stands out in this landscape of single-family homes or medium-sized tenement blocks. It consists of two rows of five semi-detached town houses
12. Bidearte housing block (1927).
Designed as a "luxury tenement block” by Manuel Mª Smith for Tomás Allende, a politician and industrialist in the mining sector.
13. Villa Ariatza (1925, 2003).
Originally designed by Manuel Mª Smithaz, the current building is the result of an alteration undertaken by his grandson José Mª Smith Solaun to convert the original building into a hotel.
14. Villa Kaialde (1925, 1960).
It is a perfect example of a 1920s’ stately home. It is another building designed by Manuel Mª Smith.
15. Villa Kaiertza (1925)
The architect is the same as for the three preceding buildings, reflecting a regionalist style, somewhere between Montañés-style manor houses and Basque Baroque palaces.
16. Valdés Palace (1914, 1943).
Designed by José Mª Basterra for Cristóbal Valdés, one of the main developers in this area. It is now a spirituality house.
17. Bake Eder Palace (1901, 1910, 1942, 2011)
Popularly referred to as "la finca de los Aznar" [the Aznar property] (in honour of its second owners) it was designed by Elizalde. Since 2011, and following a project involving G&C architects, this complex now houses the BiscayTIK Knowledge Centre.
18. Zugazarte Building (1964).
It is a design by a couple of well-known architects in Bizkaia, J. L. and F. Iñiguez de Onzoño, and it provides a successful counterpoint with the other residential buildings in the area.
19. Churruca house (1929)
This palace was a commission made to the architect Manuel Mª Smith by the married couple Mª Teresa Zubiria Urizar and Alfonso Churruca Calbetón, son of the engineer Evaristo de Churruca (the protagonist of a deapie/onfoot route).
20. Housing block (1927).
Designed by Ignacio Mª Smith, the building was developed by Benito Díaz de Junguitu, who organised many of the major events held in Las Arenas at the beginning of last century.
21. Getxo Elkartegia (2012)
A building raised on the site of the former food market in Las Arenas, according to a design by A54 architects. It caters for businesses and entrepreneurs, as well as for council services.
22. Plaza de las Escuelas (1903).
Popularly referred to as the “Plaza de los Enanos” (because of the figures of dwarves that surrounded its former fountain), its great merit lies in its public and communal use ever since it was first opened.
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You still have another 13 routes, with the following being the closest:
