The South American Tour

by Annie S. Peck

On the Plaza Independencia not far away, reached by the calle Sarandí, is the Government Palace containing the offices of the President and Ministers, presently to be superseded by a splendid structure on the principal avenue, 18 de Julio. Just off the corner of this plaza is the Solis Theater, with a handsome Ionic front, a rather ancient building for Montevideo, more than fifty years old, its right wing housing the Museum. The theater which has recently been remodeled, now seating over 3000, is one of the fine establishments of South America, though rivaled in Montevideo by the newer theater Urquiza, corner of Andes and Mercedes, which was inaugurated by Bernhardt in 1905. In one or the other of these have appeared nearly all of the most noted European artists, at least of the Latin races, stars of the drama and of the opera both. The people are great lovers of the theater and more than 2000 performances are given in a single year with about two million spectators.

The Museum includes a considerable collection of specimens of the natural history and geology of the country; many relics of the native Indian tribes now altogether extinct, such as hundreds of stone bolos and other weapons, with primitive utensils; souvenirs of the colonial wars, and some paintings by artists of Uruguay and Europe.

The new Legislative Palace on the Avenida Agraciada is a magnificent building with two fine plazas in the front and the rear, and space on all sides. The basement will contain fire-proof chambers for the archives, and rooms for lighting, heat, and service. The ground floor has a great vestibule and a corridor 55 feet wide extending to the rear of the building, crossed by three others 10 or 12 feet wide. Near the entrance are quarters for the guard of honor, and farther in are rooms for police, telephone and telegraph, wardrobes, and other purposes. On the front a great marble staircase 55 feet wide leads up from the ground to the entrance on the main floor. Pedestals with costly bronze statues are designed to divide the staircase into three sections. Two ramps, one on each side of the stairway, permit the ascent of vehicles to the main entrance in front of a large hall, Pasos Perdidos, 55 feet wide and 160 long, embellished with columns, and with a staircase leading to the floor above. The two large chambers for the Senate and the Representatives, one on each side, are 66 feet in diameter and two stories in height, with galleries for the Press and the public. In the front of the building are salons for the President and the Ministers, with private rooms, and at the sides and back are rooms for the officials of Congress. The design was one of the Argentine architect, Meano, modified to suit local taste and conditions. The building, which was to cost $2,000,000, is expected to be complete in 1914.

NEW LEGISLATIVE PALACE, MONTEVIDEO

Other interesting buildings are those of the University, the School of Arts and Trades, and the Agricultural Institute. There are two groups of new University buildings, erected at a cost of $2,000,000; the one on the Ave. 18 de Julio containing the central offices of administration with the Schools of Law and Commerce, the other, the several buildings containing the Medical School, the Chemistry Building, and housings for the Institute of Hygiene, Physiology, etc. The Administration Building occupies an entire block between Caigna and Yaro, where formerly was the School of Arts and Trades. Of classical Italian architecture, with two stories and a high basement, it contains ten class rooms seating from 50 to 100 each, two halls seating 200, and one accommodating 800. There is a law library of 30,000 volumes, one of the best in South America, while for the present the National Library also is in the building. The large high school occupies a handsome structure covering most of the block south, facing on Lavalleja. It is well fitted up with laboratories, gymnasium with baths and rest room, class rooms light and airy, and with all modern scholarly and hygienic equipment.

The Medical School occupies the block formerly the Plaza Sarandí, being surrounded by the streets Uruguayana, Ladislao Terra, Yatay and Marelino Sosa, not far from the new Congressional Palace. There are three separate buildings which are arranged and fitted up in a style which would meet the demands of such an institution anywhere. The central part of the main building is occupied by the various offices, council chamber, library, and reading room, a hall seating 1000, etc.; one wing is devoted to the Institute of Physiology, the other to that of Anatomy. The Department of Chemistry has a fine building on Ladislao Terra and Yatay, the Department of Hygiene, one on Ladislao Terra and Uruguayana.

Other Schools which might be connected with the University but which have a distinct organization are the Agricultural and the Veterinary. The latter is a little farther out on one of the principal avenues of the outer city, the Larrañaga, with grounds covering 30 acres. It will ultimately include a number of buildings for the various departments, Laboratories, Clinics, Autopsies, etc., but at present is confined to laboratories, class rooms, and hall for clinics. The School of Agriculture is a fine large building in the suburb of Sayago, 45 minutes by electrics from the center of the city, fare 10 cents. The edifice contains excellent laboratories, class rooms, and general offices, and is doing an important work of great value to the country. The four-story building near the harbor landing, formerly occupied by the University, is now used as an Engineering School.

A Pedagogical Museum of considerable interest to one with some knowledge of educational problems and work, is on the north side of the Plaza Libertad next to the Athenaeum, an institution of much literary and scientific importance in Montevideo.

Another educational edifice which some may be glad to visit is one which houses both the Military Academy and the Naval School. The situation is a convenient one on the edge of the city with grounds covering 30 acres, yet only 15 minutes by electric car from the center of the town. The building with a façade 250 feet long fronts on Ave. Garibaldi, but sets back 60 feet allowing space for a pretty garden. In the left wing are the class rooms of the Military School, in the right those of the Naval. On the next floor are dormitories, baths, etc. In the center are rooms common to both, a casino, fencing-room, and a large hall for festal occasions. Above is a tower with steel cupola for the Astronomical Observatory. In the rear are great depots, naval and military, a large gymnasium, a swimming tank, 100 by 150 feet, stables, hospitals, a riding course, athletic field, etc. On the inside, covered galleries permit passage from one building to another in the rain; the U shaped constructions surround a large space ornamented with trees. There is excellent ventilation in the main building, windows on both sides, so that in class and in the infirmary each student enjoys much more air space than the highest amount prescribed.