Chief Points of Interest
The Plaza and the Avenida de Mayo, the Government Palace, Capitol, Palace of Justice, Plaza San Martin, the Museum of Art, Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Palermo Park, Hippodrome, Colon Theater, Parque Lezama and National Historical Museum, Recoleta Cemetery, the Docks, Frigorificos, Mercado de Frutos.
Tourists coming from Mendoza will arrive at the Retiro Station. Outside are numerous carriages to convey the traveler and small luggage to his hotel. The price of these carriages is astonishingly cheap to a New Yorker, 1 peso, 44 cents, for a ride of 15 squares, and nearly all of the hotels are within this distance. From the docks the ride may be longer, according to where landing is made. Further, there are carriages of the second class, which seem equally good. For these the fee is 60 centavos. The only difference that I could learn was that the first-class coachman wears a uniform. The number of horses, one or two, makes no difference. The automobiles are somewhat more expensive. The drivers have a habit, as elsewhere, especially at the station, of demanding more than their fee, particularly on Sunday; so it may be as well to say nothing, take the first carriage offered and pay what is due with a small tip and no remarks, and something additional for baggage. Trunks should be arranged for with an agent of the express company, Expreso Villalonga, either at the station, or after reaching your hotel, if that is not already decided upon. The hotel porter will attend to it if you hand him your checks.
Unlike the cities previously visited, as might be expected from its size, a wide choice of accommodations is here offered. Hotels galore and lodging houses as well are to be found, though perhaps not a room at the desired hostelry unless engaged in advance: not always even then, if reports are true of certain establishments. There are all kinds of prices except very cheap, for this is quite another world from the West Coast, and except as to carriages, prices compare with those of New York.
The first choice of the ultra fashionable and wealthy is likely to be the Hotel Plaza, unless a new one promised to be still finer should already be completed. At the Plaza, barely two blocks from the station, a room may be had on either the American or the European plan. The lowest price for the latter is ten pesos ($4.40) a day—and from that far up, doubtless 30 or 40 pesos or more for suites with bath. Meals are in proportion. The location is good, on the handsome Plaza San Martin, and very near the river, the American Legation is close by—but it is quite a distance, 11 blocks, from the Avenida de Mayo, the principal avenue, and many will prefer a hotel in the heart of the city on this handsome and busy thoroughfare, or one within a few blocks of it. The other hotels are somewhat lower priced and by many regarded as more comfortable and agreeable. The Plaza, under the management of the world famed Ritz Carlton people, is naturally the grand affair that one would expect, the pompous, uniformed British attendants easily leading one within to fancy himself in London.
The Palace Hotel, before the erection of the Plaza, regarded as the first in the city, is a large edifice, property of Nicolas Mihanovich, the noted steamboat man. This fine structure, two blocks from the Plaza de Mayo, fronts on three streets, the 25th of May, Cangallo, and the Paseo de Julio, many rooms thus looking upon the Paseo, a fine boulevard and parkway, and out over the docks to the river. On this side there are five stories, with an observation tower at the corner 150 feet high for the use of the Mihanovich Company, and containing a powerful electric light. The offices of the company are on the ground floor of the building. The hotel has an imposing entrance with a monumental stairway (also elevators) leading to the main floor. Here is a hall of the Louis XIV style, and a luxurious dining-room of the Empire fashion with white and gold ceiling. All floors are heated and there is a telephone in every room or suite, conveniences and elegance of all kinds. Above there is a roof garden (a favorite resort on summer evenings) adorned with exotic plants, and a summer dining-room which affords charming views.
Other hotels, older and equally popular, are the Grand and the Royal, comfortable, even luxurious, much patronized by English-speaking folk. The Grand, built in 1900, on Florida and Rivadavia, is in the very heart of the city and by some called noisy; the Royal at the corner of Corrientes and Esmeralda is a few blocks distant. At these the price for room and board with bath privilege is from 9 to 12 or 14 pesos a day; for room with morning coffee only, 5 to 8 pesos a day.
AVENIDA DE MAYO
On the Avenida, which means always the Avenida de Mayo, are the Hotels Splendid, Metropole, Paris, Majestic, Caviezel’s New Hotel, all of the first rank with pension prices from 10 or 12 pesos up. Also on the Avenue near the Plaza de Mayo is the Hotel Nuevo, said when built to have been the acme of elegance. The Phoenix, San Martin 780, more quiet and less pretentious than some of the others, is much patronized by English. One preferring lower prices will find good board and rooms at the Pension Caviezel for from 7 to 9 or more pesos daily (elevator), an excellent location on the Avenida, Rivadavia and Esmeralda (painfully neat, some one said, which is hardly a fault), a Swiss proprietor; another pension of the same name is at the next corner, with prices a little higher. At the Hotel Albion on the Avenue rooms without board may be obtained, cheaper but less attractive, and furnished rooms elsewhere at 2-4 pesos a day, according to style and location.
Comfortably settled in a good hotel, what is first to be done? I should say, after morning coffee take a stroll around the center of the city, down the Avenue, turning to the left on Florida with a glance at the shop windows, down Cangallo to Reconquista and the Plaza at the right. If time is short begin at once sight-seeing there, the center of the old and new city, a historic site for nearly four centuries. Called by Garay, Plaza Grande or Mayor, containing 8 acres or more, it is now Plaza de Mayo. The center, regarded as the Altar of the Country, has been occupied by a modest monument, an obelisk called the Pyramid of May, commemorating the Revolution of 1810. For this, excavation was made in April, 1811. This will now be replaced by a great and worthy monument on the same spot to the same event, voted by the centenary commission to the competing artists, Gaetano Moretti and Luis Brizzolara. The splendid marble monument, having a base 150 feet square, will be a trifle taller, the base supporting a colossal obelisk 115 feet high, upon which will stand a group of statuary, the apotheosis of the Argentine flag: a figure representing the New Nation waving the sacred banner, preceded by Progress crushing down Ignorance and Prejudice, and acclaimed by Revolution, Justice, and the People. Other statues and reliefs will be used in decoration. An interesting innovation will be a large chamber within the monument to be used as a museum and to contain as a first relic the actual Pyramid of May, the first memento of the glorious dawn of liberty. This monument is to be finished and in position in 1916.
Of other monuments already decorating the Plaza, one erected in 1906 faces the Avenue, a fine group of marble portraying a figure, the City of Buenos Aires, being crowned by Progress; a child, the Future, observing the act. Towards the other end of the Plaza, the east, is an equestrian statue of General Manuel Belgrano, one of the first Council of Government, appointed by the Corporation of the City, May 25, 1810; he was afterwards a commander of Argentine troops, gaining victories at Tucumán and Salta, in 1812 and ‘13, later suffering defeat in Bolivia, after which he resigned the command to San Martin. The rest of the Plaza is occupied by gardens, walks, and fountains. Occasionally there is music.
At the southwest corner of the Plaza is the ancient Cabildo where met, May 22, 1810, on the upper floor, a popular assembly which declared the authority of the Viceroy incompatible with public tranquillity. May 25 the Cabildo appointed a Junta or Council of Government with Don Cornelio Saavedra as President. The Viceroy having already withdrawn to avoid bloodshed, the Council took the oath the same afternoon; Saavedra addressed the people from a balcony with an appeal for order and harmony. Thus the revolution triumphed without bloodshed, and from here spread to other sections, where long struggle was necessary; to Argentina, the success in all the countries south of Ecuador was largely due.
The most imposing structure on the Plaza is the Government Palace on the east. On this spot in 1595 the construction of a fort was begun; but it was 1718-1720 before a considerable fortress was erected, whose walls remained till 1853. They were then demolished for a custom house, which in 1894 was destroyed to make room for the present palace. This great brick edifice, 400 feet long and 250 deep, with two wings of slightly different form, constructed at different periods, contains offices of the President of the Republic and of the various Ministers, of the Interior, of Foreign Relations and Worship, of Finance, of Justice and Public Instruction, of Agriculture, of Public Works (Hacienda), of War and Marine. In the building are several libraries, the most important that of the Ministry of Foreign Relations (State Department), where in iron cases are the treaties with foreign nations since 1811, some of these, real works of art, superbly engrossed on parchment with enormous wax seals. The entrance on the north side gives access to two large and elegant salons where receptions and banquets are given by the President, his official residence occupying this end of the building. The banquet salon, richly furnished in Louis XV style, contains a central chandelier, a notable work of art made in the country by Azaretto. There is also a fine marble figure representing the Argentine Republic, and there are busts of the various Presidents. Within the building are several patios and pleasant reception rooms. Sentinels abound, but the doors are open and on business days at the usual hours the building is accessible to the public. On feast days, if necessary, permits to enter may be obtained from the Superintendent of the Palace.
On the north side of the Plaza, coming from the Palace, one first reaches the Chamber of Commerce, in 1885 established in its present edifice, though inaugurated as a Bolsa do Comercio in 1854 with 118 members. It has now above 4000, and is a very important establishment. Operations in 1909 amounted to a value of 328 million pesos. The same year the Clearing House account for banks was 4½ billion pesos.
In the same block at the corner of Reconquista is the Bank of the Argentine Nation, the most powerful institution in the Republic. Founded in 1902 with a debt of 50 million pesos in bills emitted as its capital, thanks to a rigid organic law, excellent administration, and the honesty of its directors, it has become a great financial power. In October, 1908, the capital was increased by $17,800,000 gold. As a Bank of the State, no dividends are made, the annual profit of fifty per cent being converted into gold reserve and added to the capital. January 1, 1910, the capital was 113 million pesos, the reserve 39 millions gold. The bank in 1910 had 121 branches in the provinces and 8 agencies, mostly in their own buildings, making easy the commercial transactions for cattle and agriculture, in contrast to our own difficulties, due to the silly prejudice against a Central Bank, so serviceable in all other countries. It performs all the operations of other banks, these in 1909 amounting to 645 million pesos.
At the west end of the north side is the Cathedral, on the spot selected by Garay for the church in 1580, when a simple structure with mud walls and thatched roof served the purpose. An edifice with arches in the present form was begun in 1701, but the façade in imitation of the Madeleine in Paris was built in the time of Rivadavia by the architect Catelin. The great semi-spherical dome, covered on the outside with blue and white squares in the Spanish style, is a contrast to the other roofs. The interior has a central nave, two aisles and a transept, well proportioned except for the great thickness of the pillars. The side chapels are not of especial importance save the third on the right, the sepulcher of the great San Martin, liberator of Chile and Peru, a patriot whose purity of motive, possibly his ability, equaled that of Washington, though he was far less happy in the contemporary appreciation of his services; not until after his death receiving his merited honors. The octagonal chapel is effectively lighted from a small dome above. Four marble plaques bear the names Lima, Chacabuco, San Lorenzo, and Maipu, reminding of his glorious deeds. In the center a bronze sarcophagus containing the ashes of the hero has several pediments upon a broad marble base which bears also four marble blocks. On three of these stand marble statues, in front, that of Liberty, at the sides, Labor, and Commerce. The block in the rear carries laurels and palms only, with a bas relief representing the battle of Maipu. In front are the arms of Argentina, at the sides those of Peru and Chile. On the right stands a bust of the great patriot, the whole forming a worthy, artistic, and most impressive monument.
On the west side of the Plaza at the corner of the Avenida, with entrance on the latter, is the Municipal Palace or City Hall, where the Executive Department of the City Government has been located since 1892, the Deliberative Council meeting at Peru 272. The Intendente or Mayor is appointed for two years by the President with the approval of the Senate, and may be re-appointed. The Deliberative Council of 22 is also named by the President, as the elections formerly held gave poor results. On the other side of the Avenue are the Civil Courts.
The Avenida de Mayo, in front of the Capitol, extends from the Plaza de Mayo a little more than a mile to the Plaza, about 100 feet wide, paved with asphalt, lined with trees, and with a row of posts for electric lights in the center. Cut through the block between Rivadavia, originally the main street, and Victoria, the next street south, at a cost of ten million pesos, it was opened for traffic July 9, 1894. It is considered by some the finest street on this hemisphere, others prefer the Avenida Central in Rio, while all who admire skyscrapers will insist that it is not to be compared to Fifth Avenue. Adjoining the City Hall, is seen on the right the splendid edifice erected by Dr. José C. Paz for La Prensa. As the finest newspaper building in the world for the sole use of a single publication, it should be visited by every traveler, though only certain parts are open for inspection. There are five stories above ground and two below, the sub-basement containing the electric fixtures and the paper storage room. On the next floor is the machinery, presses, etc., with a room at the back 120 feet long and 25 deep for the distribution of papers. On the ground floor on the Avenida are the bureaus of administration, as for advertising, etc., and the museum; while fronting on Rivadavia are rooms for free consultation with physicians and lawyers. One flight up, a long one, for ceilings are high, but there is a good elevator, are the handsome rooms of the chief editors. A fine salon with luxurious appointments, Turkish rugs, furniture upholstered in leather, sofas and armchairs, and a heavy carved table, is the reception room, where gentlemanly attendants in uniform are at your service,—a contrast indeed to the dingy hallways where people are kept, by often pert youths, from entering the sacred though bare and noisy quarters of the editorial staff of some of our great and wealthy journals. On the other side of the large patio is a handsomely decorated hall seating 500, with furniture of red and gold, used only for entertainments for the employees. On the next floor are various editorial rooms, on the fourth luxurious apartments for the entertainment of distinguished guests from abroad. At the top are rooms for photography, composing, etc. On the turret is a statue holding a powerful electric light, the rays of which are visible to a great distance. The editor of this great newspaper, which like its building in some respects, for instance in the amount of its telegraphic despatches, is superior to any in the United States, is Dr. Adolfo E. Davila, who has held the office since 1877. To him the paper owes a large share of its progress which is deemed worthy of its palatial setting.
A little farther up is the great store of Gath & Chaves, one of the best in the city, and at 633 the fine building of the Progreso or Progress Club. Opposite is the Diario building, which in 1911 had just been afflicted with a fire. The Diario is an important, perhaps the leading afternoon paper. Along the way are many hotels and other business structures. Some of the buildings, like the Prensa, are almost covered with electric light bulbs, probably remaining from the Centennial display in 1910, when lighted obviously producing a brilliant spectacle.
At the upper end of this splendid avenue, beyond a large Plaza, is the Capitol, strongly reminiscent of the one in Washington, but none the worse for that. The plans were by the late Victor Meano; the cost was $9,000,000. It may be mentioned in passing that the Plaza in front was constructed for the celebration of the Centenary in the short space of 90 days; four solid blocks of buildings were torn down, ground was filled in, leveled, and grassed, walks were laid, trees, shrubs, and flowers planted, fountains with colored waters, obelisks, candelabra, and statues were erected, and all done at a cost of $5,000,000, in time to receive their guests in 1910. And we call South Americans slow! Monuments to the Constituent Assembly of 1813, the Congress of 1816, and to General Mitre are to be added.
THE CAPITOL PLAZA, BUENOS AIRES
PALERMO PARK
The central façade of the Capitol, setting a trifle back from the line of the projecting wings, is adorned with a fine portico and approached by a stately staircase having on each side an equestrian statue. The central dome is a remarkable work, the pillars supporting it covering 300 square meters. To sustain the weight of 30,000 tons, the foundations were laid 30 feet deep, and an inverted dome of stone was fixed. No one should fail to visit the top of the great dome, which provides a splendid view over the city and the broad river; or the magnificently furnished reception halls and legislative chambers. The Senate Chamber, arranged for but 30 members, is a small room though provided with two galleries. The larger Chamber of Deputies has three rows of galleries, the first for the diplomatic corps with an especial reservation for ladies, some of whom come to hear the debates. The acoustics are said to be poor and the heating inadequate. There are conference rooms, a library, rooms for secretaries, etc. The Houses regularly meet from May 1 to the end of September, but the sessions are usually prolonged until January by Executive Decree. The Deputies meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at three, the Senate on the alternate days. The Chamber of Deputies, semi-circular in form, has 130 seats besides eight for the Ministers, here admitted to their deliberations. There is a platform for the President and two secretaries. Behind the Presidential chair is a portrait of Valentin Alsina.
Below the platform is a table for stenographers, two of whom write a report of the proceedings, published the day following. Members speak from their places receiving polite attention, especially noticeable in comparison with the practice in Assemblies of older nations. There is no division of seats for political parties, nor special garb for President or Ministers. Each Deputy has a desk with writing material. For each 33,000 people, and for an additional half as many more, one Deputy is elected for four years, receiving a salary of 18,000 pesos. Every two years one half of the House is renewed. The Senate Chamber also has seats for the Ministers. The Vice President, according to the Constitution, is the presiding officer. Strangers of distinction desiring to visit the sessions of Congress may obtain from the Secretary cards of admission to the galleries.
The characteristic of the city first obvious is its extreme neatness, in strong contrast to our chief cities; then the narrow streets of the business section and the absence of skyscrapers, each of which will seem to Americans generally an evidence of backwardness and provincialism. The former certainly is a great defect, inherited from colonial times, which the officials of recent days have been and still are endeavoring to remedy. As the widening of all the streets at once was obviously impossible, to relieve the congestion of traffic and to beautify the city, the Avenida de Mayo was constructed. Soon two diagonals, wonderfully diminishing the present difficulty, will be cut from the north- and southwest corners of the Plaza de Mayo through the busiest parts of the city. Although the streets in the center are only 33 feet wide, since the buildings have mostly but two or three stories, they do not lack air and light, as in so many of the streets of New York; the height of all buildings being limited according to the width of the street on which it stands, an excellent and necessary rule. All of these narrow central streets are one way thoroughfares, both for cars and other vehicles. Natty policemen stand, not at a few, but at dozens of busy corners, regulating traffic. Yet in spite of their best efforts blocks are frequent, sometimes delaying cars for ten or fifteen minutes. It may be mentioned that the city has, in proportion to the inhabitants, twice as many policemen as New York, generally courteous and obliging. In order to help a little, the corners of many buildings and sidewalks have been chopped off in accordance with a law promulgated some years ago, though long not strictly enforced. Many of these old streets will be widened in time, as new buildings must be set 10 or 12 feet farther back, a temporary disfigurement, ultimately of great advantage. West of the Capitol all streets are wider. New ones must have a breadth of at least 60 feet. In the newer sections are many beautiful broad avenues, the Santa Fé and Alvear in some respects surpassing the Avenida. There is an excellent service of electric cars, one writer says the best on this hemisphere, already supplemented by a subway now being constructed from the Plaza de Mayo to Plaza 11 de Setembro. This one completed, others will be promptly begun; not as in New York ten years after they should have been finished. For in Buenos Aires, packing like sardines is not permitted, as will be discovered, perhaps with indignation, when a car marked completo passes without a pause, and one has to wait several minutes for a second or a third. Within, all are comfortable, the seats, each for two, facing the front with an aisle between, where no one is allowed to stand; on the broad rear platform six only are permitted. With carriages so cheap, anyone in a hurry can easily afford to patronize them. The cars with large figures in front, as in Chile, a fashion which might well be introduced in our cities, are easily distinguished; the hotel porters and the policemen being usually able to tell you two or three numbers of the several cars which may take you to your destination, and the points at which these are to be found. Also a little red guide book, Guia Peuser, purchasable for 10 centavos, will give all necessary information as to railways and electric cars, carriage tariffs, etc.
An afternoon drive may be taken in auto, car, or carriage. Setting out in good season, one may first traverse a few streets in the center of the city, the fashionable Florida to Plaza San Martin, returning by Reconquista to the Plaza de Mayo, cross down to Parque 9th of July below the government Palace, then go by Paseo de Julio and Avenue Alvear to Parque 3rd of February, commonly called Palermo. After a drive in the park return may be made by Santa Fé and Callao to the Capitol building and upper end of the Avenue, or by other streets past the Recoleta, the Aguas Corrientes, etc.
The calle Florida is par excellence the fashionable promenade of the city. Though narrow like the others and but ten blocks long, it is distinguished from the rest by having no car tracks and is lined by many of the most fashionable shops, beginning with Gath & Chaves extending from the Avenue to Rivadavia; though to be accurate, this is on Peru instead of Florida, the old Rivadavia street being the dividing line where the names change and the numbering each way begins, instead of the Avenue as would seem more natural. Besides many of the best shops, there are on Florida many fine residences, among these one between B. Mitre and Cangallo belonging to the Guerrero family; one on the left in the Louis XV style between Corrientes and Lavalle, the home of Juan Peña; opposite is that of Juan Cobo. Beyond Lavalle on the right is the magnificent home of the Jockey Club, soon to be abandoned for a larger and still more costly establishment. This Club, noted as probably the richest in the world, with an entrance fee of £300, nearly $1500, yet having a considerable waiting list, receives so large an income from the receipts at the races that it hardly knows what to do with it. Its present edifice has a noticeable façade, a fine entrance hall and staircase, on the first landing a famous Diana sculptured by Falguières. Corinthian columns, ornamentation of onyx, ivory, and azul are part of the decoration. A fine banquet hall, various dining-rooms, luxurious drawing and reading rooms, rooms for cards, billiards, fencing, baths, etc., and a few to which ladies are admitted with a member for afternoon tea, unite to make this the equal of any Clubhouse in the world. Beautiful paintings and other expensive luxuries, like tapestries and carving, contribute to the elegance of the establishment. On moving from their present quarters to the much larger and more splendid structure now being erected near the Plaza San Martin, the Club will present this edifice to the Government to be occupied by the Department of State.
Beyond on the same side between Viamonte and Cordoba, a large building with arcades, covered by a glass roof, occupies the entire square. This, called the Bon Marché, is used mainly as an office building and contains some Bureaus of various Ministries. Formerly the National Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts were here located, but the Museum or Gallery now occupies a fine building on Plaza San Martin, with the Academy adjoining. The Florida ends at this Plaza, one of the handsomest of the city, surrounded by many splendid edifices, adorned with large trees, flowers, shrubbery; and at the upper end an equestrian Statue of San Martin. The Art Museum is at the east end of the north side; farther west are stately residences, as also on the south side. Here, between Florida and Maipu is the office of the United States Legation, easily distinguishable by the United States Coat of arms above the door, should the flag not be floating from the projecting staff. Happily in the South American countries visited, the legations are all suitably housed, though it is said that at least one Minister of ours to Argentina, paid more for his house rent in Buenos Aires than his entire salary. It is obviously not a position to be sought at present by a man with only his talents to recommend him. Returning by Reconquista one would pass many fine business blocks, including banks.
Driving past the Government Palace and turning down to the left, we come to the Parque 9th of July in the rear of the palace, from which we proceed again north on the way to Palermo. Buenos Aires boasts of 74 parks and plazas altogether, with an extent of 10 million square meters. The 9th of July is modeled after the Champs Élysées, having a broad avenue with gardens of the Renaissance style on each side. It begins at the south with a half circle in which a statue, probably Rivadavia, was to be placed. In the middle is a circle with an artistic fountain by the French sculptor Moreau, and at the north end, opposite Cangallo, is a pretty fountain by an Argentine artist, Lola Mora. Along the way are cafés, restaurants, and concert halls.
Proceeding along the Paseo de Julio, with its line of shrubs and flowers, one may continue by the fine Avenue Alvear through the most fashionable quarter of the city. The Avenue, bordered with flowering trees and palms, is lined with palatial mansions, in the midst of beautiful grounds and gardens. At the fashionable hour this avenue is filled with vehicles, rented victorias, the stately carriages of the residents, and many automobiles, which although numerous have not yet seemed to lessen the multitude of carriages.
Almost too soon the Park is reached, its formal title, the 3rd of February, recalling the defeat of the tyrant Rosas in 1852 by General Urquiza with an army of soldiers from Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, Rosas then fleeing to an English ship and to permanent exile. He formerly resided on the site of the Round Point. This park covering 3,677,000 square meters corresponds to Central Park, New York, or Hyde Park, London, though it is more at one side, being on the border of La Plata River. The many beautiful, shaded avenues are, on the dies de modo or days of fashion, thronged with carriages before or after dinner according to the season, when thousands of people may be seen enjoying the spectacle as well as the fresh air, the ladies displaying magnificent toilets for the pleasure of all beholders.
The drive should be continued to the lake, where the charming pagoda-like Restaurant of the Lake will be admired. At certain times and seasons, it is quite the thing to enjoy here at the price of three pesos, a cup of afternoon tea, etc., to the accompaniment of a good orchestra. At a kiosk on the round point of the lake, La Granja Blanca offers for refreshment sterilized milk and other dairy products. Not far distant is the Restaurant Palermo, to which persons wishing to dine there are gratuitously conveyed from the center of the city. Excellent entertainment with good orchestral music is said to be provided at a moderate price for this city.
Within the area of the park are included enclosures for various sports. Close to the lake is the ground of the Cricket Club with chiefly English members. Enclosed by the avenues Pampa, Ombu, Alsina, and Palomar, covering a space of about 125 acres, are the Golf Links of the Argentine Club, with a course of 5300 yards. A Gymnastic and Fencing Club possesses a fine court for their exercises, where much frequented contests are often held, as also in the bicycle track. The northwest end of the Park is occupied by a Rifle Range, covering 10,000 square meters. An imposing façade is flanked by two towers 60 feet high, from which a magnificent panorama may be witnessed. Three large gateways with glazed iron doors open into a vestibule 80 feet long, from which two doorways lead to the shooting galleries, 300 feet long and 20 wide; 38 targets all double and movable give ample opportunity for shooting, eight at a distance of 150 feet for revolver practice, twenty at 1200, and ten at 1600 feet, for rifle shooting. Shields of iron and banks of earth give protection against poor shots. Admission is free and any one by paying for the cartridges will be supplied with arms and allowed to practice to his heart’s content. Contests both national and international are frequently organized.
Near the rifle range is the great hippodrome. Beyond it, outside the park, is a field of 30 acres belonging to the Argentine Sporting Association. This contains a track of 3500 feet for trotting races with sulkies, and one of 3200 feet for obstacle races with hurdles, fences, and ditches of water. The space in the center of the course is used for polo and football. Clubs from Uruguay and South Africa have participated in games held here by the Argentine Football League.
The glimpse now gained of the Argentine Hippodrome will incite to a visit on one of the gala days, Thursday and Sunday, when many will enjoy a display superior to anything of the sort previously witnessed. Nothing in the United States approaches it. While some Americans asserted that this was the finest Racing Ground in the world, a gentleman of Buenos Aires stated that it hardly equaled Longchamps. However, the buildings here are superior. The spectators are accommodated in a row of great white stands, that for the especial use of the members of the Jockey Club and their families being largely of white marble and capped with a graceful roofing. Behind the upper rows of seats is a spacious promenade with tables for afternoon tea, and farther back large and well appointed club rooms.
JOCKEY CLUB STAND, HIPPODROME
CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION, RURAL SOCIETY
Worthy of attention is the long series of other white buildings, elaborate and spacious, for all required purposes, also the space enclosed by the track: not the usual bare field but a plat decorated with flower beds, greenery, and rivulets crossed by little white bridges. There are three tracks one inside another, the outermost a mile and three-quarters in length. The grounds outside the track are embellished with flowers, lawns, and trees, the eucalyptus, pines, and palms; an excellent band discourses music; while a throng of gaily dressed people, the men (at least the Argentines), in faultless attire, the ladies in elegant Parisian costumes with a liberal display of jewelry, contribute to the brilliant spectacle.
The season is a long one, continuing from March 4 to December 30, with 56 regular functions. The races are of a high order (the riders generally Argentine), the most important being for the Jockey Club Prize, Sept. 8, the Cup of Honor, Sept. 16, the National Prize, Oct. 7, and the International, Oct. 28. These are the true Society events, the dates varying slightly with the year. On these occasions the throng is so great that movement is impossible. In 1905 the winner of the National Prize received $27,000 and the sale of tickets reached $346,000. In the year 1906, the betting at two pesos a ticket was equal to $20,000,000. Persons of distinction or with influential friends may be able to procure an invitation to the official stand. For seven pesos, tickets may be purchased admitting to everything except that, or for two pesos to the old stand and four to the new.
To attend the races one may go by train, every five minutes, from Retiro Station, by tram (15 ctvs.) marked Carreres from Parque de Julio, by carriage at two pesos an hour, or with a livery carriage for 15 pesos the afternoon.
CHAPTER XXIV
BUENOS AIRES—CONTINUED
Leaving Palermo Park by the broad Ave. Sarmiento, one has on the left the Zoological Garden; on the right, a feature of Argentine life of the highest importance, the buildings and grounds of the Rural Society, granted by the Government to the Society for the annual agricultural and cattle shows. Upon grounds which cover 180,000 square meters are fine pavilions for various purposes; stables accommodating 500 horses or cattle, park room for 736, a roofed space for 3500 sheep, an enclosure of 4500 square meters as show ground, with two stands seating 2000 persons. There are three large pavilions and others smaller for the display of agricultural machinery and products, and an immense kiosk for the products of the dairy. The exhibitions, occurring in the months of September and October, concluding with horse races, are a social event. In order to appreciate the leading position in such matters held by Argentina, one must attend one of these expositions, so well conducted as to have attained a degree of perfection unsurpassed in the world in the number and pure blood of animals exhibited. These expositions, organized by Señor G. A. de Posadas in 1858, have been a powerful influence in the improvement of stock and in the pride taken in blooded animals. They were the starting point of Argentine stock breeding. The Sociedad Rural was organized in 1866. During the Presidency of Sarmiento 1868-74, an Agricultural Bureau was organized, and in 1898 the Ministry of Agriculture, a prime necessity in view of the staple industries of the country. 1905 was the record year for the exhibition of cattle, with 2389 head, after which a limit was fixed to the number of entries in each class by one exhibitor. The variety of cattle most favored is the Shorthorn, forming 88 per cent, 9 per cent are Herefords and there are some Durhams and other breeds. Of the sheep, more are Lincolns, of horses, Clydesdales and Percherons, with some Morgan race horses. The leading nations of Europe took part in the International Exposition, June, 1910. At the National Exhibition in September, the sales amounted to over $7,000,000.
A separate Fat Stock show is now held, with high priced sales and with frozen meat sent to England. Congress has devoted 100,000 pesos annually to such an exhibit.
The fine studs of the country contain 400 thorough-bred stallions and 3000 brood mares, producing 1500 foals yearly. There are 66,500 thorough-bred horses. Ormonde, purchased for £19,000, was sold in the United States for £23,000. Diamond Jubilee cost 30,000 guineas, Flying Fox 37,000. Cyllene, bought for £30,000 was sought for at double the price to be returned. The sons of these horses, raised in this splendid climate, are excellent runners.
In the agricultural section are exhibited cereals and other products; from the north, coffee, cotton, and tobacco; more important, the linseed, wheat, corn, and rape, also beans and peas, woods, fruits, wools, ostrich feathers, grape and wine products, potatoes, sugar cane, yerba mate; minerals,—marble, onyx, petroleum, silver;—agricultural machinery, pumps for watering stock, windmills, engines, threshing machines, shearers, locust destroying machines, etc.
At the Round Point of this Avenue is a Statue of Domingo F. Sarmiento (after whom the avenue is named) by the sculptor Rodin. Unveiled May 25, 1900, it represents Sarmiento advancing over the laurels which have fallen at his feet, his face expressing the serenity, decision, and energy, which characterized him.
The statue rests upon a block of marble, on the face of which Apollo, the god of light and thought advances, dispelling shadows, while the Python, representing Ignorance and Foulness slinks back in death. Two other statues in the Park are, one, in front of the Administration Building, of Dr. Carlos G. Burmeister, who was many years director of the Museum of Natural History, the other of Dr. Eduardo Costa, a remarkable jurist who rendered great services to the State.
On the Avenue are seen two bronze lions, reproductions of those at the Palace of Luxembourg in Paris. They have been much admired, as the most perfect representations of these animals yet produced.
At the end of the short Ave. Sarmiento is the Plaza Italia, adorned with a striking monument by the sculptor Macagnani of General Giuseppe Garibaldi, the gift of resident Italians and Argentines uniting in a sentiment of fraternal admiration for the hero, who is here represented on horseback. The monument, inaugurated June 2, 1904, has below at the sides of the pediment two statues; one, Victory, who many times crowned the hero with laurels, the other, Liberty, for which he shed his blood. Excellent bas-reliefs represent episodes in Garibaldi’s life.
In the angle between Sarmiento and Avenue Las Heras is the entrance to the Zoological Garden and between the latter and Santa Fé an entrance to the Botanical Garden, this not always open, the principal gateway being in the middle of the side on Santa Fé, No. 3951. To each of these Gardens an entire half day should if possible be devoted and some persons would enjoy a longer time in each. Now observing only their location, we return to the city in time for dinner by Ave. Santa Fé, a street about ten miles long, extending from Plaza San Martin out to the suburb Belgrano. At No. 3795 adjoining the Botanical Garden is the National Conservatory of Vaccination (dependent on the Department of Hygiene) where children are vaccinated by thousands and from which vaccine is sent to all parts of the Republic except the Province of Buenos Aires. On the other side of the Avenue, on the corner of Uriarte, is an Association of young Society ladies, called Las Filomenas, its purpose that of giving to poor children a practical education by teaching them a trade. A new route will be by the broad Ave. Callao to Ave. de Mayo, but thus will be missed many fine residences on Santa Fé which, however, will keep for the next time.
To see the Botanical Garden one may drive rapidly about, or take the leisurely walk which is necessary fully to appreciate its beauties. This important institution, said to be unequaled in the world, is the work of the celebrated Carlos Thays, its organizer and director. His red brick residence is directly in front of the main gateway. Just within the
BOTANICAL GARDEN
ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN, HOUSE OF ZEBUS
entrance is a plan of the grounds, extremely useful in enabling one to visit parts of especial interest or to make a systematic tour of the entire garden. In this limited space is found a collection of the leading characteristic flora of the whole earth. The climate lends itself remarkably to the formation of such a collection, permitting both tropical growths and those of the cooler parts of the earth. Here are hot houses, a fernery, a Louis XV, and a Roman garden, industrial and medicinal plants, fruit trees, yerba mate, aquatic plants, a department of acclimatization, Argentine flora, and sections devoted to Europe, Asia, Africa, North, South, and Central America, Canadian pines, and Sahara palms, a wonderful variety of rich colors and luxuriant growth. Naturally the Argentine collection is fullest, practically perfect, exhibiting, in specimens from Tierra del Fuego to Mendoza and the Chaco, a good portion of the varieties of the globe. A flourishing Victoria Regia is in the little lake of the garden of Louis XV. A truly delightful afternoon will be spent by many, and another will be passed near by.
The Zoological Garden may be entered from the Plaza Italia, fee 10 ctvs., or at two other points. Coming from the Plaza one’s attention may first be attracted by the sight of a white llama all saddled and bridled, looking in the summer, very quaint with his wool clipped off. (Perhaps it is allowed to grow in cold weather.) A little boy or girl may be enjoying a ride on his back. The animal is tame but must be gently handled. The Garden is a captivating place. Among beautiful lakes and trees is a charming array of artistic and elegant pavilions for the various animals, these in general constructed in the style of architecture of the country from which the residents have come. For the elephants there is, with a spacious yard for exercise, a splendid mansion, where a little one was born in 1906, a rare occurrence in captivity. An imposing edifice houses a large variety of bears including the white polars; an Egyptian temple contains gorillas and chimpanzees, an Indian palace, the zebus, in correct style of architecture exhibiting the fantasy of the race. The extensive palace with the ferocious animals, lions, Bengal tigers, panthers, jaguars, etc., is of especial interest at feeding time. An immense cage contains condors, eagles, and other large birds, while smaller ones hold other varieties, lovely white parrots, and some entirely pink with curious head feathers, probably macaws. These, with the beautiful white peacocks, are especially fascinating; the black and white swans are noticeable. Many other animals, snakes, etc., too numerous to mention, are also on exhibition. In attractive restaurants a large dish of ice cream may be had for 30 ctvs., and various other viands.
Less extensive than the great collection in the Bronx, the animals are more magnificently housed, and across the beautiful lakes the Garden has many vistas of romantic beauty.
In the central portion of the city are many attractions meriting the attention of the tourist. The Museum of Fine Arts on Plaza San Martin, northeast corner, contains a worthy collection of paintings, chiefly of the modern French School. This Museum, decreed by the National Government, July 16, 1895, was organized by Edward Schiaffino and opened Dec. 25, 1896. The collection has been formed from a legacy by Adrian E. Rossi of 81 canvases, donations from a large number of private individuals, works of art belonging to the State previously scattered in various public buildings, and by many purchases. It includes a considerable number of pieces of sculpture. Among the paintings of various schools may be observed the familiar names of Puvis de Chavannes, Meissonier, Van Ostade, Luca Giordano, Corot, and dozens more. The collection is well arranged and lighted, and a full half day is requisite to give a cursory glance at the fine works of art here assembled.
A number of private galleries in the city afford evidence of refined taste and of the desire of persons of great wealth to acquire collections of artistic worth. To visit these in the homes of their possessors, persons desiring the privilege should endeavor to procure a card of introduction, though in some cases permission may be gained by direct application to the owners, who courteously receive strangers, whether amateurs or artists. The gallery of the estate of José Prudencio de Guerrico, Corrientes, 537, is a museum of art as well as picture gallery, called one of the first in South America. With many others it contains works of Daubigny, Corot, Diaz, Meissonier, Greuze, Rosa Bonheur. The gallery of Parmenio T. Piñero, Corrientes, 633, has a splendid specimen of Sorolla, a fine example of Castro Placencia, with works of Doré, Bonheur, Fortuny, etc. At Talcahuano 1138, the salon of Laurent Pellerano presents paintings, classical, international, and Argentine, 40 of Italian artists, 18 Spanish including Murillo and Sorolla, 9 French and a good number of Argentine. In the salon of Dr. Joseph R. Semprun, Tucumán 757, is a collection of various styles, with many fine works purchased in Europe since 1830. The gallery of Jean Canter, B. Mitre 516, contains paintings, sculpture, pottery, and engraving of various styles and periods. The gallery at Maipu 929, belonging to Piladeo Soldaini, open on Sundays from one to three, has a collection especially of Italian and Spanish artists with more than 50 different signatures. At Paraguay, 1327, in the home of General Garmendia are 150 paintings including canvases of rare merit by unknown and by famous artists, and portraits of members of the family, with an interesting museum of armor of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, fire arms, poniards, and daggers of various periods, historic swords of Gen. San Martin, Rozas, and others, and personal relics of the Paraguayan war in which the General was engaged.
The Museum of Natural History at the corner of Peru and Alsina, with entrance on the former, is of great value; but in 1911 was so badly housed that a small portion only of its treasures were visible. Decreed by the Assembly, May 27, 1812, and actually installed after an ordinance of Rivadavia, Dec. 31, 1823, little was accomplished until the fall of the tyrant Rozas. At length the post of Director was offered to a professor of the German University of Halle, Charles Germain Conrad Burmeister, who, by a previous journey to Brazil and Rio de la Plata, had greatly advanced scientific knowledge of the fauna and flora of these regions. Dr. Burmeister, landing in Buenos Aires September, 1861, developed the institution into a renowned scientific establishment. The remarkable paleozoologic section has a world-wide reputation. Fossil animals of the antediluvian epoch, largely derived from the Argentine pampa, were reconstructed by the scientist, who wrote many works embodying the result of painful research in reference to prehistoric creatures. After 30 years of service the great scholar at the advanced age of 95, resolved to retire, but anxious for the continuance of his work he first secured the appointment of Dr. Charles Berg, previously in Montevideo. To Dr. Burmeister, who believed that the Museum was for the benefit of science and not to gratify idle curiosity, is due the fact that the Museum is so badly housed; as when a new edifice was proposed he said he would be buried there rather than leave. Many improvements in the display of objects have been made by Dr. Berg, but want of light and space is apparent, and the collection will soon be transferred to a building in consonance with its merits. The present edifice is an ancient cloister of the Jesuits in which the University was installed Nov. 3, 1783. The greater part of the visible exposition is up one flight. Of especial interest are the enormous skeletons of prehistoric animals. The Museum has five sections, including Zoology, Paleontology, Ethnology, Botany, and one of Geology and Mineralogy; also a library of more than 10,000 volumes, chiefly important works for the study of Natural History.
No one should fail to visit the National Historical Museum in the Parque Lezama, open on Thursdays and Sundays from noon to four, and entered from calle Defensa, 1600. The six rooms and a gallery are so crowded with relics that the Government is planning the construction of an edifice more worthy to preserve the trophies of the glorious record of the country’s history. The better one’s acquaintance with this history, the far greater pleasure in the examination of these relics of the past; but at least a casual glance is due from every traveler. The Museum was created in 1890 as a municipal institution by Señor Adolph P. Carranza, with 191 objects: private donations, and trophies previously preserved in the Government Palace and the Natural History Museum. In 1891, it became national in character and since Sept. 1897, it has been in its present locality. In 1907, it contained 4500 pieces, not all on exhibition on account of insufficient space. At the left of the entrance are the offices, at the right, the salons. The library, originating with a gift of Director Carranza, contains 1500 volumes of American History and MS. of great importance. The Museum has a rich collection of numismatics, 4000 pieces, including rare examples of medals commemorating the epoch of Independence, and many of other periods. In the first salon may be seen on the left a celebrated plaque of silver with reliefs in gold sent in August, 1807, by the Corporation of Oruro, Bolivia, to Buenos Aires, and to General Liniers, to commemorate the retaking of the city. Above is the sword of the British General Beresford, surrendered by him at the time of capture. From the plaque is suspended a shield no less famous, called Tarja de Potosí, of gold and silver, presented by the ladies of that city to the general and patriot, Manuel Belgrano; and with this are medals in memory of his triumphs at Salta and Tucumán. In this and other rooms are two royal Spanish standards, one dating from 1605; portraits of Viceroys; explorers, as Valdivia, Mendoza, Ponce de Leon, discoverer of Florida, Pizarro, and others; many pictures of battles; furniture, dishes, and other relics of distinguished men. At the doorway of the third salon, is a silver statue of the British Minister, George Canning, presented in 1857 to Dr. Alsina. In the salon is a reconstruction of the chamber in which San Martin lived and died, the furniture, pictures, etc., given by his descendants, with pictures of the battles in which he fought, and a hundred other interesting objects. In the fourth room is preserved under a glass his uniform as Protector of Peru, and his saber of Moorish style. Medals, flags, and various other interesting relics are here also. The sixth room has, with other relics, trophies, and representations of the war with Paraguay.
The Libraries of the city will be visited by tourists of literary tastes if not by others. The National Library was founded at the very birth of the nation in 1810, by the Revolutionary Junta, who placed in charge Dr. Mariano Moreno. In 1796, the prelate, don Manuel Azamory Ramirez, had at his death left his books for this object, but the English invasion in 1806 delayed the execution of the plan. The project received enthusiastic support in the substantial form of gifts. Installed in a house of the Jesuits where it remained till 1902, it was then removed to its present quarters on calle Mexico, 560–566, soon to be enlarged. A fine vestibule and staircase lead to the spacious reading room. There is a handsome hall for lectures, and the ordinary appurtenances of a library. The institution in 1880 passed from the hands of the City to the Government, when Buenos Aires was federalized. The building, heated in winter, is then open from 11.30 to 4; in summer, from noon till 5. The last figures obtainable were of 200,000 volumes and 10,000 MS.
Equally interesting is the Library of the late General B. Mitre, preserved in his former residence, San Martin, 336, where he died; this, Congress has decreed a public monument in recognition of his glorious services to the nation as a statesman, a writer, and a soldier. The dissipation of the library would have been a public calamity. It is a bibliographic treasure, amassed by General Mitre during fifty years of active intellectual life. It is distinguished by American historical works, especially documents and MS. collected for his own writings, the Story of Belgrano, 3 vol. and of San Martin, 4 vol. The library has twelve sections, including the works on the pre-Columbian native races of America, their languages, culture, geography, etc.; the discovery of America; further exploration; Rio de la Plata in general and particular; Spanish America; Portuguese America; North America; boundary limits, laws, seals, constitutions, treaties, etc.; with letters and stamps. I was interested to observe under glass a letter written by Sidney S. Rider of Providence, informing the General of his election as an Honorary Member of the Rhode Island Historical Society, an evidence that his fame had reached one corner of the United States.
The Library Rivadavia, Lavalle, 935, founded May 20, 1879, by the Bernardino Rivadavia Association, is free to readers, but the members pay one peso a month for the privilege of taking out books. It contains about 30,000 volumes.
PATIO IN NEW HALL OF JUSTICE
COLON THEATRE
The Library of the Sociedad Tipográfica Bonaerense, Solis 707, with more than 5000 volumes, is noteworthy as receiving all journals and reviews of the Republic. Open 7-10 p.m. Entrance free.
There are especial libraries: that of the Faculty of Medicine, Córdoba 2180, open daily to students and the public, and having more than 20,000 volumes, that of the Law, Moreno 350, and that on Education, well stocked on this subject, for the use of teachers and others who may apply. The library of La Prensa is open to the public from 2 to 7 and from 9 to 12 p.m.
In this connection reference to the newspapers seems appropriate. The leading journals publish news from every corner of the globe, all that is worthy of interest: they contain much more foreign news and cable dispatches than any New York paper. Instead of the enormous quantity of trivial gossip about public and private individuals which forms so large a part of the reading matter of most of our papers, they have in addition to real news of State, and of mercantile and commercial matters at home and abroad, articles scientific and literary, information as to art, music, and every field of activity. In their high ideals of duty in molding public opinion and in correcting abuses, they are regarded by foreign critics as among the most important and advanced of the world. To this, the first rank of their press, belong the Prensa and the Nación among morning papers, the Diario, of afternoon. These, with El Pais, Tiempo, La Razon, and La Patria degli Italiani show the highest degree of excellence as to their illustrations, typography, material, and housing. La Nación, originating in 1857 under the name Los Debates, was edited by Gen. Mitre until 1862, and in 1870, took its present name. It is noted for the elegance and literary character, as well as for the intrinsic value of its writings. There are more than 400 publications in the Republic including 100 in foreign languages, many naturally poor and ephemeral in character. There are some excellent illustrated papers; Caras y Caretas, the P. B. T. and La Illustración Sud-Americana.
On the Plaza Lavalle are several important buildings of great interest to every tourist. On the west side is the new Palace of Justice on a site formerly occupied by the Artillery Armory, a work of much splendor both without and within; the edifice, of the neo-Greek style, constructed by Joseph E. Bernasconi after a design by the French architect, Norbert Meillar, at a cost of about a million and a half dollars. The main building, 125 feet in height, has seven stories, the four central bodies surmounted by a cupola. Steps lead from the Plaza to a broad portico and vestibule, from which fine stairways conduct to the third floor, the seat of the Supreme Court. Other great staircases lead up from north and south; from Lavalle street is a covered passage way admitting vehicles with criminals. On the main floor are the chambers for Federal Courts and their Secretaries, the Criminal and Correctional Tribunals. A Jury Hall is an amphitheater seating 700. The Supreme Court Room on the third floor, 70 by 38 feet and 60 feet high, is separated from the front by a fine gallery looking upon the plaza. Every floor is arranged for eight tribunals or courts, each with audience chamber, private rooms for judge and secretaries, and rooms for employees. There are several patios adorned with beautiful columns, one in style somewhat after the Caryatides of the Erechtheion in Athens. The archives will be kept on the ground floor: the three upper stories are reserved for use when needed. Six passenger elevators and two freight supply required service.
On the opposite side of the plaza is a building which to many will be still more attractive, the Colon Theater, without its equal in America, and some say in the world. No shops disfigure the ground floor, nor do any of the façades resemble the walls of a prison. The exterior is of the Ionic order of architecture below, the Corinthian above, and at the top a rather composite construction. The height to the cornice is about 80 feet. From the main entrance on the plaza a vestibule leads to a hall 45 by 90 feet and 80 feet high, from which a staircase 45 feet wide and adorned with 16 large statues conducts to the level of the orchestra chairs of the auditorium, one of the largest in the world, accommodating 3570 persons. The entire length of one balcony is nearly 250 feet, 10 more than that of St. Charles in Naples. The floor space 90 by 70, has 900 chairs on 7 levels. The stage, 60 feet broad and 65 feet high, from foundations to arch is 150 feet. The building is fire-proof, with fine acoustic properties, and the best of light, heat, and ventilation. The cost was nearly $2,000,000. The theater is a government building where operas are performed by the leading European artists, Mascagni and others conducting. It has been said that the Argentines discover the great singers; later they come to New York. The seats are more expensive than at the Metropolitan and the audience is as brilliant as any in the world.
TOMB, RECOLETA CEMETERY
RECOLETA PARK
The edifice north of the theater deserves more than a passing glance, a beautiful school building called the President Roca, fitted with all the latest improvements and containing a charming patio at which every one should take a peep, since this may be done without disturbing the inmates. An equally beautiful school building is the Sarmiento on Callao. On the opposite side of the Plaza Lavalle is another excellent and well equipped school.
Many theaters there are besides the Colon; the Opera, at Corrientes 860, now used for light opera, the San Martin on Esmeralda 257, the National Theater designed for the representation of works written in the country, and many more of all classes including vaudeville and cinematograph, as may be seen by consulting the daily papers. The performances begin usually at 8.30, sometimes at 9. For the opera, full dress is de rigueur, the ladies en décolleté; and the spectacle on a fête day, as the 25th of May or 9th of July, should not be missed by the tourist.
At the Colisée Argentin, Charcas 1109, is a permanent circus of modern arrangement accommodating 1700.
In the city are many Conservatories of Music and musical societies. Concerts are given in various places, besides those in the Parks by the excellent military bands.
Six blocks west of Plaza Lavalle and two north, facing Paraguay street, is a fine building occupying a whole block, the purpose of which would hardly be suspected. Instead of the public institution which it might be supposed to contain, it has indeed public works, tanks containing the city’s water supply. It is called the Aguas Corrientes and may be inspected within, on a permit to be procured from the President of the Commission, Rivadavia 1255. A fine view of the city will be enjoyed from the roof.
The building opposite is the Normal School for Girls.
A little farther west is the building of the Medical School, facing Córdoba, and on the corner of Los Andes. The fine edifice contains offices, lecture halls, a large amphitheater, laboratories, dissecting rooms, library, etc. The handsomely decorated salon where degrees are conferred has a ceiling of artistic merit representing the triumph of Science. Paintings on the walls illustrate some of these, such as Jenner innoculating with the first vaccine, Pasteur examining cultures of microbes, and many others. In the amphitheater is a large painting by Charles Leroy, representing Meditation upon Death, presented by Dr. Toribio Ayerza. The school has annexes for Pharmacy and Dentistry and in a separate building a School of Obstetrics for midwives. Opposite the Medical School, is the Maternity Hospital, and connected with the former the Morgue, equipped in the finest manner with refrigerators and every facility desirable for such an establishment. The public entrance is on Junín. The standard of the Medical School is so high that only about 60 per cent of its students are graduated. Other departments of the University are located in different parts of the city. A beautiful structure of the Gothic style of architecture has been designed for the Law School. The Agricultural School in the suburbs has commodious buildings and large grounds.
The Recoleta Cemetery, no one should fail to visit. Well within the city, it is easy of access by car or carriage, in the direction of Palermo Park but not so far,—a city of the dead among the living, a crowded city with no room for more, save in the lots and tombs already well filled. The Municipal Cemetery now in general use, supplied with a crematory, is the Chacarita, five miles from the Plaza. But in the Recoleta are monuments to many Argentine heroes, and splendid works of art which would adorn any gallery. To mention even the most notable of these would require too much space. A few only may be named. In a chapel near the entrance is a great marble Crucifix by Monteverde, the Christ represented in realistic agony. A beautiful statue of Grief by Tantardini stands upon the tomb of Quiroga. The finest of the tombs is said to be that of Dr. François J. Muñiz, physician, soldier, and philanthropist. A superb female figure of bronze representing Science, is seated below, a bust of the physician is above. The tombs of Ayerza, of Ocampo, and others are also adorned with beautiful statues of allegorical figures. A full half day should be allowed for a careful study of the works of art and the tombs of many famous Argentines.
MERCADO DE FRUTOS AND RIACHUELO
BUILDING OF PUBLIC SCHOOL, SARMIENTO
A visit to the Frigorificos and to the Docks and Harbor should be on the programme of every tourist. Those who care for such things may like first to visit the Slaughter Houses on the edge of the town, the extreme west, at a place appropriately called Nueva Chicago. These, inaugurated March, 1900, occupy an immense rectangle on Merlo, Arco, and San Fernando streets, about 1200 by 3000 feet. The abattoirs against the outer wall cover each 400 square feet and the courts for the animals, 15,000 feet; room for 30,000 head of cattle. All arrangements are of the best fashion, with suitable constructions for every necessity, including a crematory for useless animals. To see the animals slaughtered, a visit should be made in the early morning. The tramways leading thither may be taken on calle San Juan or on Rivadavia; round trip by the former, 70 ctvs.; by the latter 10 ctvs. each way. An hour must be allowed for the journey.
Many who will prefer to be excused from visiting slaughter houses may yet enjoy a visit to the great Frigorificos, where no unpleasant sights need be witnessed, but where some insight may be gained into the wonderful industry which has been so great a factor in the rapid increase of Argentina’s wealth. An electric car will take one to the bridge across the Riachuelo, an important structure of iron opened in August, 1902, of immense service to the teams carrying loads to the Central Produce Market, the Mercado Central de Frutos (not fruits), where cattle and agricultural products are sold for export, an immense traffic, the most important, it is said, in South America. As long ago as 1906, 5000 vehicles daily crossed this bridge. At the left on the other side is the Frigorifico La Blanca, opened Sept. 1903, an establishment of imposing appearance and completeness with its courts, offices, and warehouses. Passing some of these, one comes to a pool in which animals by the hundred are bathed before going to the slaughter house, whither we are not obliged to follow. Here is a track on which run automatic cars transporting the slain animals to the air chambers. Three boilers of 200 horse power, a depot of ammonia, a fire engine and two electric light installations are beyond the three refrigerating chambers, which will accommodate at the same time 7000 beef and 70,000 sheep. The pipes of ammonia are 60 miles long. To see rows on rows of hanging cattle covered with a thin coating of snow as it appears, really frost, which on pipes and walls is a quarter of an inch thick, is quite impressive. The fortunate visitor may be regaled by the English Superintendent with a hospitable cup of tea.
Beyond this establishment is the Mercado de Frutos, the great wool market of the world, where other products also are sold, grain, cattle, fruit, etc. The iron building which covers over 30 acres cost $4,155,000 gold. It contains 72 cranes and elevators, 44 hydraulic presses, motors, engines, etc. With a capacity of over 50,000,000 lbs. of wool the greatest quantity yet stored was in Feb. 1901, when there were 35 million lbs. within and 5 million in wagons outside. To see the wools being sorted, and other operations, and at other times of the year the different products of the season is of very great interest.
Above the bridge, the Frigorifico La Negra, founded in 1883 by Sansinena, employs nearly 700 men and boys, has four Stern refrigerating machines, and three from Switzerland, and with a capital of $3,000,000 pays annual dividends of from 18 to 50 per cent. Another establishment called Frigorifico Argentino, a joint stock company, is nearly as large as the Mercado dos Frutos. A single man kills 6000 sheep daily, so skillful is he and so perfect are the arrangements. In connection with the beef is a department for making Liebig’s Extract. Many interesting operations carried on here would take too long to describe.
A great establishment in this quarter is that of Domingo Noceti & Co. with immense workshops, foundry, iron-work, etc., connected with the railway.
On the way thither or on the return, several important institutions may be passed or visited.
PASEO COLON, GRAIN ELEVATORS IN THE DISTANCE
DARSENA NORD AND MARINE SHOPS
The Hospital Mercedes for the Insane, established in 1863, is well located on the calle Brandsen, on high land with fine large buildings and grounds, the latter including well paved, shaded streets, parks, and gardens. It has separate apartments for persons needing continual surveillance, and for all grades and conditions, each section with refectory, salon, dormitory, etc.; also workshops for the manufacture of many articles, and opportunities for gardening, painting, music, etc., for those who are able to work. At one time there were more than 1000 poor patients and 132 paying. Baths, medicinal and plain, a gymnasium, library, music, and billiard rooms are provided. Opposite is a Building for Idiots, established 1855 by philanthropists, with accommodations for 500.
The Arsenal of War, also in this quarter of the city, may be reached by cars coming down Callao and Entre Rios, though located on Pozos between Garay and Brazil. Everything needful for the making or repairing of war material, for the furnishing of barracks and most of the military establishments, is here provided. The workshops will interest many, and the depot of war supplies. The buildings, lighted by electricity, are surrounded by large and well planted gardens. There is a gallery for artillery practice. If passing along the Ave. Callao, at 540 the school building Sarmiento should be noticed, admirable both without and within.
The splendid Docks of Buenos Aires deserve the attention of every visitor. Although now utterly inadequate for the requirements of the city’s commerce they are models as far as they go. When constructed it was supposed that they would provide ample accommodations for many years, as no one looked forward to the astonishingly rapid growth of both city and commerce. The port has two sections, the original and natural harbor at the Riachuelo south of the city, where the stream so called, entering the River, allows ships drawing 18 feet only to go some distance up. The docks on both sides of this stream form a very important auxiliary to the more modern section on the River, the tonnage some years ago reaching 1,200,000 annually.
The chief port constructed on the bank of the great River is composed of two large basins called the north and south darsenas, and between these, four docks. The Darsena Sud is more than half a mile long and 500 feet wide, the first and second docks are about 1800 by 500 feet, the other two a little smaller. The Darsena Nord has an area of a million square feet. In the basins the depth of water is 21 feet, in the docks 23.9 at the lowest. The entire water surface of this port is over 150 acres. The Riachuelo has but two sheds for merchandise; this, the Capital port, has 24 depots, 8 of iron and 16 of masonry. Their dock frontage is 8000 feet, their capacity over 2 million cubic feet. There is hydraulic motive power, four motors, 36 elevators, and all other necessities, including nearly 50 miles of railway.
Two large grain elevators at Docks 2 and 3 belong to private companies, one with a capacity for 85,000 tons of grain. Next to these is a mill for making flour, the Rio de la Plata, which cost $15,000,000. The port is lighted by electricity, 180 lamps of 280 watts, and 261 of 400 watts placed 100 feet apart, so that ships can come in by night as well as by day. It is said to be the best lighted harbor in the world, except that of London. New York is far behind. The cost of the harbor works was approximately $35,000,000. Plans are already made for vastly greater facilities extending for miles up the river.
The neatness and cleanliness of the docks and their approaches will probably excite the greatest astonishment, and the manner in which they are shut off from the rest of the city by the beautiful Parque de Julio and the Paseo Colon. Between these and the river is an immensely broad, well paved street with appropriate structures and ample room for all traffic. A call to see the Immigrants’ Hotel, where fine accommodations for the use of the immigrants are provided in several large buildings close to the Darsena Nord, is well worth while.
An excursion by no means to be omitted is that to El Tigre, the fashionable summer and boating resort, where regattas at times occur and where all kinds of water craft are in evidence. It is a short rail or boat ride, an hour or so, to the delightful spot where the river Tigre flows into La Plata. The former is overspread with a perfect network of islands covered with trees, gardens, meadows, and charming vine-clad cottages. On the main shore are pretty hotels and restaurants with music and other attractions, people in outing flannels and in evening dress, a delightful combination of wealth, fashion, and natural beauty, which every one may enjoy.
An excursion should be made from Buenos Aires to La Plata; according to one’s taste and pocketbook, to Mar del Plata. A visit to an estancia will be greatly enjoyed if permission can be obtained from the proprietor; but the large ones near the city are few in number and obviously it would be inconvenient for them to entertain all passing travelers. With friends at court, the few may be able to arrange a visit.
ON THE RIVER TIGRE
LEGISLATIVE BUILDING, LA PLATA
At estancias far out on the campo it is different, and the rare stranger is pretty sure to receive a welcome.
La Plata. The excursion requires a full long day. The journey is made by rail from the fine large station on the Plaza Constitución, by the Southern Railway, the F. C. S. The first important station is Quilmes, 9 km., a historic spot, taking its name from an Indian tribe which was conquered and deported in 1670. Here landed, June 25, 1806, the English General Beresford with 2000 soldiers for the capture of Buenos Aires, meeting with temporary success; and off shore Feb. 24, 1827, Admiral Brown defeated the Brazilian squadron during a war for the possession of Uruguay. A pretty Gothic church may be seen from the station. On the edge of the town is a vineyard, a brewery also. So far come electric cars, starting from a bridge over the Riachuelo in the part of the city called Barracas. From the station Pereyra, 39 kilometers, a branch road goes to the port of Ensenada, and in this vicinity are several large estancias, the San Juan, the Pereyra, and the Estancia Grande. Fifty-seven kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires and five from Ensenada is La Plata, a city made to order, like Washington, to be the capital, not of the Republic, but of the Province, we should say State, of Buenos Aires, after the city, B. A., had been made the Federal Capital. The decree was promulgated Nov. 19, 1882. The city is well planned with rectangular blocks, but with the addition of many diagonal boulevards, of parks and plazas. On account of the wonderful growth of Buenos Aires, so near, the development of La Plata has not equaled expectations, as for many years was the case with our own capital, Washington; but in time, like that, it will become a splendid city. The chief points worthy of observation are the various Government Buildings, the Casa de Gobierno, residence and offices of the Governor, the Legislative Hall, the City Building (Municipalidad), the Dirección de Escuelas, the Department of Engineers, the great University Buildings, the Astronomical Observatory founded by the Government in 1883, and most famous of all, the Museum. A carriage may be hired at the station at one peso an hour, or a tramcar will make a considerable circuit, fare 10 centavos. A large Asylum for Mendicants, satisfying an important social necessity, has been erected by the philanthropist, Placide Martin.
The La Plata Museum (open fête days including Sundays from 1 to 4), having a world-wide reputation for its large collection, anthropological and ethnological, was founded Sept. 17, 1884, by Francisco P. Moreno. While the departments mentioned are the most famous, the museum also contains sections devoted to zoology, geology and mineralogy, and to archæology. The substantial architecture of the building and the arrangement of the interior and of the specimens is equal to that of European collections. Unscientific persons will be interested in many of the objects presented, the stuffed animals, the skeletons of prehistoric creatures, the mummies, the pottery, and other objects.
Mar del Plata, called the Newport of South America, is an extremely expensive and fashionable seaside resort about 250 miles from Buenos Aires. The night trains with Pullman cars are well patronized. In the summer season tickets must be procured in advance and rooms engaged at the hotels. The Hotel Bristol, American plan, 12 pesos up, is the most luxurious, equipped with every possible convenience. The Grand, Victoria, Royal and many others are very comfortable.
The city has more than 10,000 inhabitants, with boulevards, plazas, splendid chalets and “cottages” of the Newport fashion. There are casinos, theaters, golf course, bathing establishments, and everything requisite for a resort of wealth and fashion on the grandest scale.
UNIVERSITY BUILDING, LA PLATA
MUSEUM, LA PLATA