The Palacio Municipal de Montevideo (City Hall of Montevideo) is the seat of Montevideo government, located on

18 de Julio Avenue Avenida 18 de Julio, or 18 de Julio Avenue, is the most important avenue in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is named after the date on which the country's first Constitution was sworn in, on July 18, 1830. It starts from Plaza Independencia at the lim ...

, in ''barrio''

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil *Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...

. It was designed by Uruguayan architect Mauricio Cravotto. In the 1930s, a tender was called for the construction of a building to house the then executive and legislative bodies of Montevideo, the Board of Directors, and the Representative Assembly, although with the constitutional reforms these original institutions would be modified. It had to be built on the old property of the English Cemetery, a property acquired several years ago by the state in which it was originally intended to build a building to house the Executive branch of the government and the Judiciary. The City Hall esplanade constitutes a busy meeting place, and is where relevant events such as the matches of the

Uruguayan national football team The Uruguay national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Uruguay) represents Uruguay in international football, and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The Uruguayan team is ...

are broadcast on a big screen located in the building opposite.

History

Construction began in 1935 and was inaugurated on July 16, 1941, although the actual building differs from the original 1929 Cravotto model; his main tower measured 114m, which would have become the tallest building in the city, for financial reasons rose to only 78m, remaining in second place after the

Palacio Salvo Palacio Salvo ( en, Salvo Palace) is a building at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was designed by the architect Mario Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, who used a simil ...

. It also lacked the brick siding. The side wings, the underground concourse, and the garage were built later, giving the building its current appearance. While not the tallest building in Montevideo, its location on 8 de Julio Avenue, built on the crest of a ridge or long hill, makes the building look more impressive. The area of the building had begun development in at least 1867. In front of the main entrance is an impressive bronze replica of David of Michelangelo. The atrium of the building hosts exhibitions of art, craft, and varied cultural expressions, while on the right side there is a copy of the statue of

Nike of Samothrace The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

. In the late 1980s the hall hosted a retrospective of the work of the ceramicist

Eva Díaz Torres Eva Díaz Torres (1943 - 14 February 1993) was a Uruguayan ceramicist, who specialised in the production of Raku ware. A member of the Tupamaros, she was imprisoned for her political beliefs from 1972 to 1974. Biography Díaz was born in Tarr ...

. The west wing of the building hosts the Museum of History of Art. The Municipal centre of Photography includes the Photographic Archive of Montevideo, which is a service where the public can acquire copies from the material of the archive. On the back side of the building, there is an external elevator taking the public to floor 22 of the building where there is a city observatory. Also on the back of the building is the Direccion de Necropolis which supervises the cemeteries of the city.

Gallery

References

External links

Information about the observatory on floor 22, Viajando Por Uruguay
{{Centro, Montevideo Palaces in Montevideo Government buildings completed in 1941 Centro, Montevideo Buildings and structures in Montevideo Modernist architecture in Uruguay Convention centers in Uruguay 1941 establishments in Uruguay