Port Authority (former Port Works Board)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Cultural spaces · Subcategory: Institutions · Year: 1958 · Authors: José Enrique Marrero Regalado, Miguel Pintor González

This building is the headquarters of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an institution that manages and governs not only the port of Santa Cruz but also those of the entire province.

Since 1526, when the island's cabildo took charge of the maintenance and conservation of the dock, the ports were regulated by local provisions until Charles III promulgated the "General Ordinances" specifying that they should be constructed at the expense of local taxes or public funds.

In Tenerife, the Royal Consulate of Sea and Land of the Canaries funded the repairs needed by the port, but when it was abolished in 1821, administrative management passed to the Board of Commerce. In 1847, the Ministry of Public Works assumed the execution of port works, creating in 1871 a new body: the Port Works Board. This new institution began operating in Santa Cruz in 1907, initially housed in a small premises at La Rosa street no. 3 and later at no. 12 La Marina street, where it remained until 1959, when it moved to its current location. 

Although the plans for the new headquarters were signed in 1950 by engineer Miguel Pintor, the architect Marrero Regalado was the author of the building we see today. It was built between 1953 and 1958 on land that the Board had acquired to manufacture concrete blocks or prisms for the construction of the dock's breakwaters.

The building, of marked classicist character, rises three floors and features a façade full of bold elements, but very balanced through the opening of large bays. The portico below with seven arches and the upper loggia stand out. The result is an impressive and prestigious work. Inside, the spatial treatment is impeccable due to the lighting resources used to achieve a completely open space.

Currently, the services offered by the Port Authority include pilotage, maritime signalling, ship entry and exit, mooring and transit of passengers and goods, and external promotion; as the rest of its services, such as mooring, towing, water and fuel supply, loading and unloading, as well as specialised container terminals, are provided by private companies.

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