The industrial history of Terrassa has an iconic landmark in Plaça de l'Assemblea de Catalunya, in the La Maurina neighborhood: the Almirall brick factory chimney. Measuring 63.25 meters high (excluding the lightning rod) and featuring 217 spiral steps, this structure was inaugurated exactly 70 years ago, on July 18, 1956. The Guinness World Records recognizes it as the world's tallest standing chimney with a staircase.
The commission came from Terrassa entrepreneur Francesc Almirall, founder of the Almirall brick factory, which produced terracotta bricks and needed to vent gases from the combustion of 10 tons of coal daily. The chimney is constructed with precisely laid bricks, while its spiral staircase is made of reinforced concrete.
Its construction involved five men: a master builder, two bricklayers, and two laborers. The project was led by Marià Massana Ribas, who trained at the Escola Industrial de Terrassa. According to an article by his sister, Rosa M. Massana, Massana learned the bricklaying trade under Ramon Pagès, responsible for other industrial buildings in the city.
Assisting Massana were master bricklayer José Fauquet Cons, known for his fearlessness at heights, and veteran bricklayer Lucas Pérez Molina, who learned his trade in Almería before moving to Terrassa. The laborers were Paulino Carbajal García and Francisco "Curro" Gálvez Quesada; the latter tragically died after being hit by a train in Sabadell in 1960.
Rosa M. Massana spearheaded the chimney's Guinness candidacy, prompted by a comment in the Diario de Terrassa about anonymous master builders. She gathered technical and historical information, noting the chimney's "singular structure." Although not the world's tallest, it uniquely featured a spiral staircase. In 1990, she submitted the application, receiving confirmation in 1991.
The chimney has become a "very endearing" landmark for many Terrassa residents, particularly those in La Maurina, symbolizing industrial heritage and honoring the work of its builders.
