July 9 Avenue (Spanish: ''Avenida 9 de Julio'') is a major
thoroughfare
A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by
extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highwa ...
in the city centre of
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina. Its name honors
Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.
The avenue runs around to the west of the
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...
waterfront, from the
Retiro district in the north to
Constitución station in the south. The avenue has up to seven lanes in each direction and is flanked on either side by parallel streets of two lanes each. Through the centre of the avenue runs one of the city's
Metrobus (
Bus rapid transit) corridors, which stretches and was inaugurated in July 2013. There are two wide
medians between the side streets and the main road. It is currently the widest avenue in the world.
The northern end of the avenue is connected to the
Arturo Illia
Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was an Argentine politician and physician, who was President of Argentina from 12 October 1963, to 28 June 1966. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union.
Illia reached t ...
expressway (which connects to
Jorge Newbery airport
Jorge Newbery Airfield ( es, link=no, Aeroparque "Jorge Newbery", ), commonly known as Aeroparque, is an international airport northeast of downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. The airport covers an area of and is operated by ''Aeropuertos Arge ...
and the
Pan-American highway
The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...
) and to Libertador avenue. The southern end is connected to the 25 de Mayo tollway (serving the west side of Greater Buenos Aires as well as
Ezeiza airport) and the 9 de Julio elevated expressway which provides access to the two main southbound roads out of the city (route 1 to
La Plata and route 2 to
Mar del Plata). The Republic Square is located on the intersection of this Avenue with the Corrientes Avenue and on that point is sited the Obelisk of Buenos Aires.
History and overview
The idea of constructing July 9 Avenue (La Avenida 9 de Julio) was proposed during the time of Mayor
Francisco Seeber
Francisco Seeber (November 15, 1841 – December 13, 1913) was an Argentine military officer, businessman and Mayor of Buenos Aires.
Life and times
Francisco Seeber was born in Buenos Aires to Sophia Taut and Magnus Seeber, both German Argent ...
(1889–1890). It was hoped to be like an artery that crossed through from the north to the south, connecting the two. Later it was included in diverse plans and projects, but it wasn't until 1912 that it passed the National Law 8.855 that authorized the municipality to carry it out. It was intended for public use within the blocks between the streets of Cerrito and Lima and Carlos Pellegrini to Bernardo de Irigoyen, from the Paseo de Julio (
Avenida del Libertador) to Brazil (Barrio de Constitución) with the goal of constructing a 33-meter-wide central avenue, flanked with two wide streets and by public or private buildings of characterized style and special architecture built on the resulting land. The sale would be part of the financial funds along with the loan issued by the local government of 25 million gold pesos. This money would come directly from the income of the local government and with a 10% of direct contribution from the nation. If the central part corresponded well with the north–south axis, the project would complement the streets running from east to west and having two round-abouts: one located at the intersection of May Avenue (Avenida de Mayo) and the other at the intersection of
Corrientes
Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...
(Corrientes Avenue).
As soon as the respective law was sanctioned, Mayor
Anchorena made a step toward completion by inaugurating it for the Centennial of Independence (1916). The Municipality of the city of Buenos Aires started the acquisition of all the properties located particular track with an investment of 50,000,000 of the currency of that time
(peso moneda nacional). However, the municipality was not well-equipped enough with legal instruments and sufficient finances in order to further the ventures of construction of such a size in a sustainable and orderly way. The expropriations were carried out in a gradual and alternated way, such that it was slow in completing the tasks at hand. This created a grave burden on the municipal treasury. This setback also had negative effects on the building developments in the central zone. With this, many buildings were degraded and were either abandoned or demolished.
The matter generated a political and financial crisis of large proportions, which were also aggravated by the outbreak of the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the proximity of the first democratic elections that were to occur with the resignation of Mayor Anchorena and with the closing of the Municipal Counsel in 1915.
The idea to construct the July 9 Avenue was maintained in the plan of 1925 where it was integrated into the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
and
South diagonals (proposed in 1919), forming at the ends two central monuments.
The avenue's unusual width is because it spans an entire
city block, the distance between two streets in the checkerboard pattern used in Buenos Aires. The distance between adjacent streets is roughly 110 m, greater than
the distance between streets in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. The street flanking 9 de Julio to the east is called Carlos Pellegrini (north of Rivadavia) and Bernardo de Irigoyen (south of Rivadavia). The street flanking 9 de Julio to the west is called Cerrito (north of Rivadavia) and Lima (south of Rivadavia).
The avenue was first planned in 1888, with the name of Ayohuma; but the road was long opposed by affected landlords and residents, so work did not start until 1935. The initial phase was inaugurated on October 12, 1937
and the main stretch of the avenue was completed in the 1960s. The southern connections were completed after 1980, when the downtown portion of the tollway system was completed. Clearing the right-of-way for these intersections required massive
condemnations in the Constitución area.
Line C of the
Buenos Aires Metro
The Buenos Aires Underground ( es, Subterráneo de Buenos Aires, links=no), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Pla ...
runs for a stretch under the avenue.
Line A,
Line B,
Line D, and
Line E have stations when their course intersects the avenue. Notably, lines B, C, and D share a station underneath the Obelisk, which is the focal point of the subway system and features a retail concourse which also serves as an underpass. The respective station names are Carlos Pellegrini, Diagonal Norte, and 9 de Julio.
Crossing the avenue at street level often requires a few minutes, as all intersections have traffic lights. Under normal walking speed, it takes pedestrians normally two to three green lights to cross it. Some urban planners have submitted projects to move the central part of the avenue underground to alleviate the perceived "chasm" between the two sides of the avenue.
MetroBus Line
The Metrobus 9 de Julio is long with 13 stations and runs down the avenue, taking roughly the same route as Line C of the Buenos Aires Underground. It serves 11 bus lines and reduces bus travel time by 50% along the avenue. The main objective of this line is to join the city's two busiest railway stations: Retiro and Constitución and to serve the approximately 250,000 passengers per day which use buses along the avenue, with a journey time of 15 minutes instead of the 30 minutes a bus took before the line was built.
Points of interest
The main landmarks along the avenue are, north to south:
* Palacio Ortiz Basualdo, headquarters of the
French Embassy
This is a list of diplomatic missions of France, excluding honorary consulates. France's permanent representation abroad began in the reign of Francis I, when in 1522 he sent a delegation to the Swiss. Despite its reduced presence following dec ...
. The French government refused to submit the embassy building for demolition, and local preservationists opposed the move as well, as the building is widely hailed as an architectural masterpiece
*
Teatro Colón
The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...
* The western end of Lavalle Street, a pedestrianized street formerly known for its many cinemas
*
The Obelisk and ''
Plaza de la República''
* Statue of
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
in the intersection with
Avenida de Mayo
* The former
Ministry of Public Works building (the only building sitting on the avenue itself, built immediately before the avenue), at the intersection with Moreno street, with large steel images of
Eva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...
.
*
Constitución station and ''Plaza Constitución''
Gallery
File:Vista de la Avenida 9 de Julio, Buenos Aires, en la década de 1930.jpg, Panoramic view in the 30s
File:Antigua fuente de la Plaza de Mayo.jpg, Fountain at the intersection with Cordoba Avenue. Behind it, the former headquarters of FIAT Argentina
File:Obelisk Buenos Aires.jpg, Avenida 9 de Julio at night
File:Buenos Aires - Obelisco.jpg, Avenida 9 de Julio and the obelisk
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:9 De Julio Avenue
Streets in Buenos Aires