By Antonio Salgado Pérez
As we discussed in our previous section, the Santacrucera Gas Factory was not solely engaged in the production and sale of gas; it also marketed coke, which gained significant importance as a low-cost fuel in the late 1920s, effectively replacing both vegetable and mineral coal. In areas of Santa Cruz where the lack of urbanisation hindered the installation of gas pipes, coke became the alternative, as did in inland towns where demand was steadily rising. Without a doubt, it presented a financial solution for the less affluent, offering an economical heating option while also contributing to the preservation of forests, since in the absence of coke, charcoal would have been used instead—an expensive and environmentally detrimental resource, as it relied heavily on the depletion of public woodlands.
These details, among others, have been meticulously captured in a book that benefited from the invaluable insights of Professor Álvaro Díaz Torres, who infused this publication with significant scientific depth. Additionally, it was further enhanced during our encounter with Mrs. María Luisa Hanke, the daughter of one of the factory’s pioneering operatives, Martin Emil Hanke. He arrived in Tenerife from Germany in 1913, employed by the gas company to construct furnaces at the facility. What began as a brief visit extended into a twenty-three-year stay. He married Carmen Darias Padilla, a local from Tenerife, and they had a daughter, the previously mentioned María Luisa.
Doña María Luisa, along with Professor Álvaro and several local residents fond of the factory, sensed that this unique paleoindustrial heritage was at risk of vanishing instantly, potentially falling prey to the greedy and speculative municipal interests, much like what had previously transpired with the neo-baroque tower of the former Anselmo J. Benítez printing press at Villalba Hervás and San Francisco; or the home of Don Juan Martí Dehesa, a stunning model of refined art nouveau close to his brother Nicolás’s mansion in the Plaza de los Patos; and, ultimately, the Gran Hotel Battenberg, later known as Clínica Acosta, which spanned the block between Viera y Clavijo streets, Jesús y María and Rambla General Franco. All of these sites have disappeared from our local heritage because, in this materialistic world, there was no space for romance or rest. Efforts to critique the public actions that had led to the loss of historically and culturally significant values in Santa Cruz proved futile, resulting in the city gradually losing its urban heritage, allowing those who disregard culture—our very essence—to flourish, which is the most tragic fate a community can endure.
On April 24, 1993, with Santa Cruz on the brink of celebrating the 500th anniversary of its establishment, certain city politicians failed to reflect on the past, neglecting the lessons from their insensitivity that led to the loss of crucial markers of its identity as an urban centre. On that date, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife gas factory met its end through demolition. Doña María Luisa felt sorrow, and we shared in her mourning. Progress, once again, took precedence. The once-elegant image of that neglected architectural treasure, intended to be transformed into a gas and electricity museum, was unjustly crushed by the imposing structure of the Palace of Justice.
This edifice, constructed in an eclectic industrial style, had initially been erected to represent a strong external image, much like the later “La Lucha” and “Águila Tinerfeña” tobacco factories and the “Muebles La Moderna” establishment. Unfortunately, this building we mention was far less fortunate than the aforementioned trio, which continues to maintain its relevance.
Now, we are left with only its outline in the aforementioned volume, an accomplished oil painting by Gregorio González, and photographs that time will ageingly taint with a sense of nostalgia among those enamoured by the old Santa Cruz. Among this nostalgic crowd, poets emerged post-demolition, lamenting:
What if a treacherous hand
suddenly it would have started
a glorious page
of his illustrious past,
as if they drown with anger
of that gas the last light
That’s how he lost that power plant
your dear Santa Cruz.
-Member of the Tertulia
Friends of July 25
