The emergence of Barranquilla as Colombia’s most important maritime and fluvial port at the beginning of the 20thCentury was the result of the need for connecting the young republic to global markets. This process took place throughoutthe second half of the 19th Century and was consolidated with Bocas de Ceniza´s breakwater construction andended with the strengthening and supremacy of Buenaventura’s port, which became connected to the main exportdestination when the Panama Channel was completed.During this evolution process, Colombian government protectionist policies, Barranquilla’s comparative advantagesdue to its geographic location, its cultural genesis and the weaknesses of other transportation modes at the beginningof the 20th Century defined the conditions for the city’s emergence in terms of modern industrial adaptation,capitalist rationale and the notion of “progress”.Barranquilla’s industrialization process left some interesting physical evidence that represents the efforts, attemptsand paradigms that emerged from the architectural and urban discourse of the period in which modern industrializationwas materialized in the city.