Located in the old quarter of the capital of Bizkaia, this large building is located in a space with a long business tradition, dedicated since at least the 15th century to buying and selling food. In fact, the Municipal Charter of 1300, the document that founded the town, decrees the holding of a weekly market in Bilbao. Where La Ribera Market is currently was the first Plaza de la Villa. It is, therefore, a place that dates back to the very start of the city, a space that, comprised by the old San Antón bridge and church, included in Bilbao’s coat of arms, was closed until a bit more than a century ago by the presence of the Town Hall; it was also limited by the riverside façade of the historic town and the estuary itself. Since the founding of the city until today it has been a market and square at the same time.

By the 1920s, the iron and glass market was worse for the wear, so the City Council of Bilbao considered replacing it. After 1925, a variety of proposals were presented and the project for a new municipal market was finally commissioned to architect Pedro Ispizua Susunaga. The building was inaugurated by general Miguel Primo de Rivera on 22 August 1929 during the Great Week. The remarkable 134 metre-long two-story structure was dedicated entirely to the sale of food: the ground floor was for meat and fish (with modifications, the lookout basement would be for fish), and the top floor was dedicated to all other goods: fruits, vegetables, grains and related products like bread, milk and imported foods. La Ribera Market has the ultimate legal protection.