Escola Jacint Verdaguer: Barcelona Expo History

Standing at Carrer de Lleida, 32, at the transition between the dense urban grid of Poble-sec and the slopes of Montjuïc, Escola Jacint Verdaguer represents an enduring civic victory. Originally conceived as an exhibition pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, the building was later repurposed into a public school through the mobilization of local working-class families.

Architecture and the 1929 International Exposition

The building was initially projected in 1919 by architect Joan Bruguera i Roget and constructed between 1923 and 1927 under municipal architect Josep Goday Casals. Named the Pabellón Regio del Parque, it served as an administrative headquarters tasked with organizing the 1929 World's Fair.

Designed in the Noucentista style, the building features a symmetrical, rectangular floor plan across two main levels, framed by four squarish corner pavilion towers that give it a palatial profile. Its exterior walls showcase intricate terracotta-toned sgraffito plasterwork created by artist Francesc Canyelles i Balagueró, reflecting the classical Mediterranean aesthetic promoted by early 20th-century Catalan civic architecture. The structure is officially listed in the Inventory of the Architectural Heritage of Catalonia (IPAC: 41328).

Grassroots Mobilization and Conversion into a School

The preparation of Montjuïc's fairgrounds attracted thousands of migrant workers, many of whom settled with their families in informal shantytowns across the mountain and throughout Poble-sec. When the 1929 Exposition concluded, the surrounding neighborhood faced a severe deficit of public school classrooms.

Rather than seeing the administrative pavilion demolished or transferred to commercial use, working-class parents organized a petition campaign and gathered signatures demanding that the municipal government convert the site into an educational facility. The city approved the request, inaugurating the school on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1931, under the name of Catalan priest and poet Jacint Verdaguer. Renovations followed that summer to accommodate roughly 800 neighborhood children.

The school maintained its commitment to local youth during the Spanish Civil War. Despite disruptions and aerial bombardments targeting the nearby port and Montjuïc hill, staff continued holding classes and maintained scheduled summer camps throughout the conflict.

The Missing Schoolyard and Neighborhood Adaptation

Because the building was engineered as an administrative exposition hall rather than a dedicated schoolhouse, it opened without a schoolyard. In its early years, teachers had to escort hundreds of students directly onto surrounding neighborhood streets and vacant lots for recess. The institution eventually resolved this issue by annexing outdoor yard space from the adjacent municipal fire brigade depot.

Repurposing exposition infrastructure for public education became a trend in the immediate perimeter. Nearby, another former exposition structure—originally constructed by Antoni Darder for the Philippine Tobacco Company—was similarly converted into the Forestier kindergarten facility.

Contemporary Role

Today, the site operates as CEIP Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer, an active infant and primary school managed under the Consorci d'Educació de Barcelona. In addition to daily educational use, its playground participates in the municipal Patis escolars oberts al barri initiative, opening the grounds to neighborhood children and families during weekends and holidays.