GOVERNMENT PALACE
Pocitos, a little farther out, is another much frequented bathing resort. The Thursday and Sunday concerts at both beaches attract thousands. In the vicinity are many fine residences. A splendid esplanade along the shore leads to Trouville, another beach beyond. Pocitos, the most fashionable of the resorts, also has a hotel of the first rank.
On the port side of the city many improvements have been made and more are planned. Along the south side of the promontory a fine esplanade is to be constructed to extend also along the east shore to Ramirez and Pocitos in the manner of the Avenida Beira Mar at Rio de Janeiro. Pocitos, a 30 minutes’ run, is served by the cars 31 and 37, fare 8 cts.
Under the head of parks may be included the Zoological Gardens at Villa Dolores (cars 38 and 39, time 20 minutes, fare 8 cts.), a private property, but open to the public for a small fee. In addition to a considerable collection of animals, unusually extensive in the line of birds and domestic fowls, there are various artistic features, artificial grottoes, lakes, waterfalls, imitation of classical ruins, etc. A rather original feature is a little cemetery of various animals, their graves marked by life-size sculptures: lions, dogs, a rabbit, a cock, even a huge anaconda, a curious collection. The entrance fees are devoted to charitable institutions of the city.
The Hippodrome and horse races, if not quite equaling the grand display at Buenos Aires, are in excellent style; the accommodations are elegant and luxurious, and the races under the direction of the local Jockey Club are fashionable events where many notable horses have appeared. The receipts are in the neighborhood of $2,000,000 annually, the prizes in 1910 were over $400,000. The Hippodrome, established in 1888 at the suburb Maroñas, may be reached by Cars 13, 17, and 51 after a 45 minutes’ ride, for the sum of 10 cts. Races occur on days of fiesta from the first Sunday in March to the middle of January. During the short vacation the horses rest and take sea-baths at Buceo beach near by. At the gala events, when 15,000 people may be present, elegant toilets are much in evidence, with many automobiles and carriages. The betting is said not to be carried to such an excess as in some other places, practiced not as a means of livelihood but as a pastime, as people bet only what they can afford. A members’ stand was recently erected at a cost of $60,000. In the same direction is the Parque Central, a ground for athletic sports, served by Cars 51 and 52 in 25 minutes at a cost of 6 cts. The people are fond of sports, and football is a high favorite; 10,000 persons may attend matches.
The Immigrants’ Hotel on Bella Vista Beach, opened July 18, 1908, is an excellent institution, capable of receiving 1000 guests, and containing all suitable offices.
In mentioning these points of interest several suburbs have been spoken of, but others should if possible be visited, as these form one of the great attractions of the city. One of the most enjoyable and important of these excursions is to the Cerro, a hill overlooking the bay, to be reached in 55 minutes by No. 16 car, fare 14 cts., or by ferry from the landing every half hour, fare 10 cts. It is well to go one way and return another. While the hill is not very high and is easily climbed it is notable for several reasons. It was the occasion of the name, Montevideo, I see a mountain; it is the first true hill on the banks of the Plata, and, far more wonderful, it is the last (so Mr. Koebel says), for over 1000 miles; since the river Paraná, as well as the Plata, flows through a very flat country and the next hill is close to Asunción in Paraguay. Other hills there are in Uruguay and higher, but these are along the Atlantic coast and not on the rivers. From the Cerro there is a varied panorama, worth seeing if one has time to devote to the excursion—on one side the bay, the city on the promontory, lapping over on the mainland, the coast line, and the ocean slightly blue; on the other the level shore and the yellowish brown river.
Of the nearer suburbs the Paso Molino on the way to the Prado is one of the best residential districts. The suburb of Colón, car 41 (60 minutes, 14 cts.), is one of the prettiest; this car passes through Sayago suburb where the Agricultural Institute is situated. The ride is a charming one, with pretty quintas all along (houses set in their own gardens), and at Colón restaurants, pleasure gardens, and miles of avenues of stately eucalyptus trees.
Other Towns. If one has time for more distant excursions there are a number of places which deserve a visit, some of these more accessible from Buenos Aires. The old town of Colonia, to which boats often run from the Argentine capital, is across the river, and three miles from that old-fashioned, quiet city is a new resort called Real de San Carlos, where a great hotel is planned and where some attractions are already installed, a bull ring, though the fights are now discontinued, another ring for pelota, a fine, sandy bathing beach, a modest hotel.
The great Liebig Establishment, its products of world-wide fame, situated at Fray Bentos on the Uruguay River, is also easily visited from Buenos Aires. This Company, now with a capital of $5,000,000, with estancias in Paraguay and in several provinces of Argentina, established its first factory at Fray Bentos in 1865. Since that time, in addition to enormous development there, another large plant has been created, 10 miles farther up the river, but on the other side, in Argentina. Their beef extract, their Oxo capsules, and their Lemco have a deserved reputation the world over, as for these productions the best of meat only is used, instead of the leavings of poor or diseased meat said to be employed in some other establishments. All of the products are obliged to undergo a strict test in order to have the use of the Liebig name. For their employees, 1500 in number, pleasant homes are provided, medical attendance, schools for the children, recreation grounds, etc.