Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Spain.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum · see source
Where it is

Coordinates: 43°16′08″N 2°56′02″W (43.2690, -2.9340) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
The building was constructed on time and budget, which is rare for architecture of this type.[1] The museum, situated on the Nervión River in Bilbao, was designed by Frank Gehry, who holds both Canadian and American citizenship.[2]
Last updated 2026-10-04 from the source article.
Geography and history
In 1991, the Basque Government proposed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation that it would finance a Guggenheim museum in Bilbao's former port area.[3] The Basque government committed to paying US$100 million for construction, establishing a $50 million acquisitions fund, providing a $20 million one-time fee to the Guggenheim, and covering $12 million of the museum's yearly operating costs.[3] Ferrovial constructed the museum for $89 million.[4] On the evening before the official opening, roughly 5,000 Bilbao locals participated in a pre-opening celebration held outside the museum.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Salon article reported that the natives of Bilbao have taken to referring to the Guggenheim as "the artichoke".[5] A CNN report stated that the museum measures 256,000 square feet and offers more exhibition space than the combined Guggenheim collections in New York and Venice.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goldberger, "Building Art – The Life and Work of Frank Gehry", Alfred A. Knopf, 2015, p. 7; Malherbe, "Gehry Technologies Extends Partnership with Dassault Systèmes to Develop Solutions for Building Industry", Dassault Systemes' Press Releases, 23 October 2003 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tyrnauer, "Architecture in the Age of Gehry", Vanity Fair, 30 June 2010; Tyrnauer, "Architecture in the Age of Gehry", Vanity Fair, 30 June 2010 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Frank Gehry", Salon, 5 October 1999; "About Us", The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation; "CNN – Security tight before Guggenheim Museum opens in Basque city – Oct. 18, 1997", www.cnn.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ferrovial history"; Ouroussoff, "The Architect's New Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Emerges as a Testament to One Man's Optimism Amid a Landscape of Industrial Decay", Los Angeles Times, 2 June 1997 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Frank Gehry", Salon, 5 October 1999. facts only, no text reused. salon.com
- "CNN – Security tight before Guggenheim Museum opens in Basque city – Oct. 18, 1997", www.cnn.com. facts only, no text reused. cnn.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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