Tourism in Buenos Aires - 2

Casa Rosada

From Buenos Aires foundation, the lands located between the Río de la Plata and the current Plaza de Mayo have been protagonist of the city history. Military fort, customs office, government house, the Pink House took a definite shape by the ends of century 19th.

The Casa Rosada is located on the plot occupied by the Royal Fortress of San Juan Baltasar de Austria. The fortress was placed between Plaza de la Victoria (current Plaza de Mayo) and the river cliffs. In 1595, governor Fernando de Zárate ordered to erect walls of 120 meters with bastions, moats and a lifting bridge. About 1850, it was partially demolished in order to build the New Customs Office. Only the residence of the Spanish Viceroys and governors remained. Successive authorities have lodged there: the Boards, Triumvirates, Supreme Directors, Buenos Aires Governors and the first President of Argentina: Bernardino Rivadavia. Sarmiento, decided then to make some improvements to the premises of the National Executive Power. Several gardens and a pink colored façade embellished the presidential house. To date, these improvements remain. At the Museum of the Casa Rosada can still be seen the vestiges of the old fort: one of the loopholes and the vault room that used to be the Store of the Royal Treasury.

Technical data:

Inauguration: 1898
Architects: Carlos Kihlberg, Enrique Aberg, Francisco Tamburini.
Featured issue: the National Government house is situated on one of the corners of the civic-urban axis that connects Avenida de Mayo (May Avenue) to the National Congress.

Galerías Pacífico

Galerías Pacífico shopping mall - formerly Bon Marche - was designed by the architects Emilio Agrelo and Roland Le Vacher, in 1889. The architecture design was inspired on a Milan alley, built by the end of 19th. century, called Galería Vittorio Emmanuele II. Since then, except for a short period of time, a wide variety of shops has been in place in the shopping mall. This building housed an Association for the Promotion of Fine Arts, the National Academy of Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Museum. In 1908, the Buenos Aires-Pacífico Railway Company purchased the building to establish their administrative offices. By that time, it was called Pacífico Building. In the 1940s, the building was remodeled again. The main floor became a shopping mall with all corridors roofed with reinforced concrete vaults. The central dome was decorated with murals made by the celebrated Argentine plastic artists Castagnino, Berni, Colmenio, Spilimbergo and Urruchúa. Then in 1990, the building was restored for the last time. Presently, Galerías Pacífico is an important shopping mall and cultural center. Jorge Luis Borges Cultural Center and Julio Boca Dance School are established there. You can also find several movie theaters and food courts.

Ficha técnica

Galerías Pacífico. Florida 753.
Telephone: 5555 5100.
Hours: Every day from 10 am to 9 pm.
Bus lines: 6, 22, 23, 26, 28, 33, 45, 50, 54, 56, 61, 62, 91, 93, 99, 109, 115, 130, 140, 146, 152, 155.

Puente de la Mujer - Puerto Madero

The new pedestrian and pivoting bridge was built in Dock 3, in Puerto Madero neighborhood (at the level of Avenida de Mayo). It is the first work that the architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava built in Latin America. This bridge is 160 m. long by 5 m. wide. The metallic arm, 39 m. high, can be seen from Leandro N. Alem avenue. The bridge is prepared to move up whenever a ship has to get through. The pivoting mechanism is one of the biggest in the world. It has 20 electric and computerized motors in the main axle.
This bridge was granted to the City of Buenos Aires by the businessman Alberto L. González. It has been an investment of 6 million dollars. Built in Spain, its different fragments were then shipped to Buenos Aires.
The plastic interpretation of the work is a couple dancing tango, where the white mast represents the man and the curved profile of the bridge is the woman.

Ficha técnica

Dock 3 in Puerto Madero (between the vehicular bridges facing Macacha Güemes, Perón, Azucena Villaflor and Belgrano avenues)

Bus lines: 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 33, 45, 50, 54, 55.

Source: http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar

Much more information about tourism in Argentina:

Official Información from "Secretaría de Turismo de Argentina"

Main turist attractions by the Lonely Planet view

All data to travel to Argentina -Trip Advisor-

Buenos Aires Herald (Buenos Aires English written newspaper)

History, geografic cultural and much more information about Argentina in Wikipedia