Leandro Alem Avenue
Encyclopedia
Avenida Leandro N. Alem is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, and a commercial nerve center of the city's San Nicolás
and Retiro
districs.
had a two-lane street built along what was then the shores of the Río de la Plata
. Marking the estern end of the city, the throroughfare was landscaped with cottonwood trees (alamos, in Spanish), and was thus inaugurated in 1780 as the Paseo de la Alameda. The paseo became a popular weekend promenade, and its contiguous shores an unofficial riverfront park popular with bathers until an 1809 edict banned the practice for reasons of "moral terpitude."
The frontage remained flood-prone, and in 1846, Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas
had a contention wall six blocks long built along the paseo. Inaugurated in March 1848 as the Paseo Encarnación Ezcurra
(in honor of his wife), Rosas had it renamed the Paseo de Julio that October in honor of the Ninth of July, date of the Argentine Declaration of Independence
(the road's southern half was renamed Paseo Colón, in honor of Christopher Columbus
, in 1857). An English Argentine investor, Edward Taylor, opened a pier along the promenade in 1855, and the flood-control walls were extended northwards to Recoleta
, and south to San Telmo
, in subsequent works completed in 1865.
Immigration in Argentina afterwards made the Paseo a veritable bazaar, in which Italian trattoria
s, French bistrots, German beer hall
s, and Greek restaurants operated alongside brothel
s and seedy bars. The increasingly commercial desirabity of the street, however, prompted the city to mandate in 1875 that all buildings along it be designed with porticos, a regulation still in force and one which forced the paseo's more precarious establishments to close.
A sudden economic and population boom led the new President of Argentina, Julio Roca, to commission the development in 1881 of an ambitious port to supplement the recently-developed facilities at La Boca
, in Buenos Aires' southside. Approved by the Argentine Congress in 1882 and financed by the prominent London
-based Barings Bank
(the chief underwriter of Argentine bonds and investment, at the time), the project required the reclaiming
of over 200 hectares (500 acres) of underwater land and was accompanied by the widening of the Paseo de Julio into a boulevard
. These improvements were capped by the installation of a decorative fountain on the median, for which an Argentine student of Auguste Rodin
's, Lola Mora
, was commissioned. Unveiled in 1903, the Font of the Nereids
sparked moralist outrage over its nude Venus
, and the masterpiece was relocated to its present Puerto Madero
site in 1918.
The improved boulevard saw the replacement of clapboard structures for upscale office buildings, mostly influenced by French architecture
, and all distinguished by their archways. Among the most notable were the head offices of the Nicolás Mihanovich
Shipping Company and Bunge y Born
(then Argentina's leading grain exporter) and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
's new headquarters (1916). The election
that year of longtime universal male suffrage activist and UCR
leader Hipólito Yrigoyen
resulted in the boulevard's renaming in honor of Leandro Alem
, the founder of the centrist UCR, in a November 1919 ordinance. The UCR government completed the avenue's best-known landmark, the Buenos Aires Central Post Office
, in 1928, though a 1930 coup d'état resulted in the return of conservative rule.
Changes in national politics did not rename or adversely impact the avenue, which was further widened and improved by Mayor José Guerrico in 1931, adding new medians to delimit bus and taxi lanes, and giving the boulevard its approximate current layout. The avenue's eclectic architectural
selection was added to by rationalist buildings such as the Comega (1930) and the 42-story Alas
(1950), which remained the tallest in Argentina until 1995. President Juan Perón
, who had the Alas built, ordered the avenue's stretch north of Plaza San Martín
renamed Avenida del Libertador
in 1950, to commemorate the centennial of General José de San Martín
's death (San Martín is known as the Liberator
of Argentina and Perú). Zoning changes encted in 1966 allowed the development of the Catalinas Norte business park at the avenue's northern end, bringing with it the International style
to the avenue's cityscape. Leandro Alem remains one of the city's most valuable commercial real estate addresses, and its last undeveloped lots, municipal property totalling no more than 15,000 m² (160,000 ft²) and estimated to be worth around US$80 million, were publicly proposed for sale in 2009.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and a commercial nerve center of the city's San Nicolás
San Nicolás, Buenos Aires
San Nicolás is one of the neighbourhoods of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, sharing most of the city and national government structure with neighboring Montserrat and home to much of Buenos Aires' financial sector...
and Retiro
Retiro, Buenos Aires
Retiro is a barrio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the northeast end of the city, Retiro is bordered on the south by the Puerto Madero and San Nicolás wards, and on the west by the Recoleta ward.-Urban character:...
districs.
Overview
By way of a beautification effort, Viceroy Juan José de Vértiz y SalcedoJuan José de Vértiz y Salcedo
Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo was a Spanish colonial politician born in New Spain, and Viceroy of the Río de la Plata.-Biography:...
had a two-lane street built along what was then the shores of the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
. Marking the estern end of the city, the throroughfare was landscaped with cottonwood trees (alamos, in Spanish), and was thus inaugurated in 1780 as the Paseo de la Alameda. The paseo became a popular weekend promenade, and its contiguous shores an unofficial riverfront park popular with bathers until an 1809 edict banned the practice for reasons of "moral terpitude."
The frontage remained flood-prone, and in 1846, Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
had a contention wall six blocks long built along the paseo. Inaugurated in March 1848 as the Paseo Encarnación Ezcurra
Encarnación Ezcurra
Encarnación Ezcurra was an Argentine politician, wife of Juan Manuel de Rosas.She was the daughter of Juan Ignacio Ezcurra and Teodora de Arguibel. She married Rosas on March 16, 1813. She became her husband's most faithful follower, helping him in many difficult circumstances...
(in honor of his wife), Rosas had it renamed the Paseo de Julio that October in honor of the Ninth of July, date of the Argentine Declaration of Independence
Argentine Declaration of Independence
What today is commonly referred as the Independence of Argentina was declared on July 9, 1816 by the Congress of Tucumán. In reality, the congressmen that were assembled in Tucumán declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America, which is still today one of the legal names of the...
(the road's southern half was renamed Paseo Colón, in honor of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, in 1857). An English Argentine investor, Edward Taylor, opened a pier along the promenade in 1855, and the flood-control walls were extended northwards to Recoleta
Recoleta
Recoleta is a downtown residential neighborhood in the city of Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; it is an area of great historical and architectural interest, due, particularly to the Recoleta Cemetery located there...
, and south to San Telmo
San Telmo
San Telmo is the oldest barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis and is characterized by its colonial buildings. Cafes, tango parlors and antique shops line the cobblestone streets, which are often filled with artists and dancers.San Telmo's...
, in subsequent works completed in 1865.
Immigration in Argentina afterwards made the Paseo a veritable bazaar, in which Italian trattoria
Trattoria
A trattoria is an Italian-style eating establishment, less formal than a ristorante, but more formal than an osteria. There are generally no printed menus, the service is casual, wine is sold by the decanter rather than the bottle, prices are low, and the emphasis is on a steady clientele rather...
s, French bistrots, German beer hall
Beer hall
A beer hall is a large pub that specializes in beer. Bavaria's capital Munich is the city most associated with beer halls; almost every brewery in Munich operates a beer hall...
s, and Greek restaurants operated alongside brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
s and seedy bars. The increasingly commercial desirabity of the street, however, prompted the city to mandate in 1875 that all buildings along it be designed with porticos, a regulation still in force and one which forced the paseo's more precarious establishments to close.
A sudden economic and population boom led the new President of Argentina, Julio Roca, to commission the development in 1881 of an ambitious port to supplement the recently-developed facilities at La Boca
La Boca
La Boca is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It retains a strong European flavour, with many of its early settlers being from the Italian city of Genoa. In fact the name has a strong assonance with the Genoese neighborhood of Boccadasse , and some people believe that...
, in Buenos Aires' southside. Approved by the Argentine Congress in 1882 and financed by the prominent London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based Barings Bank
Barings Bank
Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million due to speculative investing, primarily in futures contracts, at the bank's Singapore office.-History:-1762–1890:Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the...
(the chief underwriter of Argentine bonds and investment, at the time), the project required the reclaiming
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
of over 200 hectares (500 acres) of underwater land and was accompanied by the widening of the Paseo de Julio into a boulevard
Boulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
. These improvements were capped by the installation of a decorative fountain on the median, for which an Argentine student of Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
's, Lola Mora
Lola Mora
Lola Mora was a sculptor, born in a barn in the , though generally considered native to Trancas, province of Tucumán, where she was recorded and baptized. She is known today as a rebel and a pioneer of women in her artistic field...
, was commissioned. Unveiled in 1903, the Font of the Nereids
Nereids
In Greek mythology, the Nereids are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sisters to Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon and can be friendly and helpful to sailors fighting perilous storms. They are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father...
sparked moralist outrage over its nude Venus
Venus (mythology)
Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
, and the masterpiece was relocated to its present Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos...
site in 1918.
The improved boulevard saw the replacement of clapboard structures for upscale office buildings, mostly influenced by French architecture
French architecture
The history of French architecture runs in parallel with its neighbouring countries in Europe, with France being home to both some of the earliest pioneers in many architectural styles, and also containing some of the finest architectural creations of the continent.-Roman:The architecture of...
, and all distinguished by their archways. Among the most notable were the head offices of the Nicolás Mihanovich
Nicolás Mihanovich
Nicolás Mihanovich was a Croatian Argentine businessman closely linked to the development of the Argentine merchant marine.-The Beginnings:Nicolás Mihanovich was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in what is today Croatia, in 1844...
Shipping Company and Bunge y Born
Bunge y Born
Bunge y Born was a multinational corporation based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whose diverse interests included food processing and international trade in grains and oilseeds...
(then Argentina's leading grain exporter) and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange is the organization responsible for the operation of Argentina's primary stock exchange located at Buenos Aires CBD. Founded in 1854, is the successor of the Banco Mercantil, created in 1822 by Bernardino Rivadavia.Citing BCBA's self definition: "It is a...
's new headquarters (1916). The election
Argentine presidential election, 1916
The Argentine general election of 1916 was held on 2 April. Voters elected the President, legislators, and local officials. The first free presidential elections in the nation's history, they had a turnout of 62.7% and produced the following official results:...
that year of longtime universal male suffrage activist and UCR
UCR
UCR may refer to:* University of California, Riverside* Unified Cornish Revised, a variety of the Cornish language* Uniform Crime Reports* Under color removal* University of Costa Rica* Unión Cívica Radical, an Argentine political party...
leader Hipólito Yrigoyen
Hipólito Yrigoyen
Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Irigoyen Alem was twice President of Argentina . His activism became the prime impetus behind the obtainment of universal suffrage in Argentina in 1912...
resulted in the boulevard's renaming in honor of Leandro Alem
Leandro Alem
Leandro Nicéforo Alem was an Argentine politician, born in Buenos Aires, a founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. Alem was the uncle and political teacher of Hipólito Yrigoyen. His father, was the chief of Rosas' political police, the Mazorca. He was executed after the battle of Caseros...
, the founder of the centrist UCR, in a November 1919 ordinance. The UCR government completed the avenue's best-known landmark, the Buenos Aires Central Post Office
Buenos Aires Central Post Office
The Buenos Aires Central Post and Communications Office is a public building and landmark in the San Nicolás district of Buenos Aires.-Overview:...
, in 1928, though a 1930 coup d'état resulted in the return of conservative rule.
Changes in national politics did not rename or adversely impact the avenue, which was further widened and improved by Mayor José Guerrico in 1931, adding new medians to delimit bus and taxi lanes, and giving the boulevard its approximate current layout. The avenue's eclectic architectural
Architecture of Argentina
The Architecture of Argentina can be said to start at the beginning of the Spanish colonisation, though it was in the 18th century that the cities of the country reached their splendour...
selection was added to by rationalist buildings such as the Comega (1930) and the 42-story Alas
Alas Building
The Alas Building is a residential and office building located in the San Nicolás section of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It stands at a height of 141 metres and houses 41 floors....
(1950), which remained the tallest in Argentina until 1995. President Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
, who had the Alas built, ordered the avenue's stretch north of Plaza San Martín
Plaza San Martín (Buenos Aires)
Plaza San Martín is a park located in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Situated at the northern end of pedestrianized Florida Street, the park is bounded by Libertador Ave. , Maipú St. , Santa Fe Avenue , and Leandro Alem Av....
renamed Avenida del Libertador
Avenida del Libertador
Avenida del Libertador is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in points north, extending 25 km from the Retiro District of Buenos Aires to the northern suburb of San Fernando.-History:...
in 1950, to commemorate the centennial of General José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
's death (San Martín is known as the Liberator
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
of Argentina and Perú). Zoning changes encted in 1966 allowed the development of the Catalinas Norte business park at the avenue's northern end, bringing with it the International style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
to the avenue's cityscape. Leandro Alem remains one of the city's most valuable commercial real estate addresses, and its last undeveloped lots, municipal property totalling no more than 15,000 m² (160,000 ft²) and estimated to be worth around US$80 million, were publicly proposed for sale in 2009.