Bilbao

The Guggenheim Museum of modern Art was built 1993-97 on site of an inactive factory in a ex prosperous city with 30% unemployment whose leaders envisioned a transformation. The Guggenheim administration in NYC were out of space so consideration was given first to a European location. Salzburg and Venice were in the running and but Bilbao was chosen as the best fit. It was financed by the local interests and paid for itself in 3 years 1.3 million visitors per year. Beth and I agreed that the architecture and setting were outstanding (although being modern art, some of the pieces were questionable in our eyes).Read more