Avenida Santa Fe is one of the principal thoroughfares in
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
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. The artery is essential to the imaginary axis of
Barrio Norte in Buenos Aires, comprising the areas influenced by the route of the avenue through
Retiro,
Recoleta and
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
neighborhoods, it is considered one of the main shopping and strolling areas of the city, its many boutiques range from elegant to edgy, which has led it to be dubbed the 'Avenue of Fashion'. Upscale Alto Palermo, at
Avenida Coronel Díaz, is one of the city's best-known vertical malls. Avenida Santa Fe is also an attraction for its architecture, strongly reminiscent of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Its name pays homage to the eponymous province in Argentina.
History
First laid out in colonial Buenos Aires as ''San Gregorio Street'' in 1774, it was at the time the northern limit of the growing port city. Following the
British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806, it was renamed for one of the popular heroes of the invasion's defeat, Pío Rodríguez. The declaration of autonomy from the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in 1810 led city officials to rename it ''Calle Estrecha'' (the "Narrow Street"). The progressive Governor of the
Province of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
,
Martín Rodríguez Martin Rodriguez may refer to:
*Martín Rodríguez (politician), Argentine politician
*Martín Rodríguez (tennis), Argentine tennis player
*Martin Rodrigues, drummer of the 1970s band Captain Beyond
*Martín Rodríguez (field hockey) (born 1990), ...
, had the narrow street widened in 1822, following which
Bernardino Rivadavia
Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827.
He was educated at th ...
, the first
President of Argentina
The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Ar ...
, renamed it ''Santa Fe Avenue''. Mayor
Torcuato de Alvear
Torcuato de Alvear y Saenz de la Quintanilla ( Montevideo, 1822 – Buenos Aires, 1890) was a 19th-century Argentine conservative politician. He was the son of soldier and statesman Carlos María de Alvear and father of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvea ...
, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
at the hand of
Baron Haussmann, drew up master plans for major boulevards, running east to west, every six blocks and in the 1880s, the avenue was included in the plan and widened. A 1967 ordinance made the avenue a one-way thoroughfare, west to east.
Overview
Santa Fe Avenue officially begins on the southern end of
Plaza San Martín and the northern end of pedestrian
Florida Street
Florida Street ( es, Calle Florida) is a popular shopping street in Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913.
The pedestrian section as such starts at the intersection ...
. The avenue affords a view of the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
Kavanagh building
The Kavanagh Building () is a famed skyscraper in Retiro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Designed in 1934 by architects Gregorio Sánchez, Ernesto Lagos and Luis María de la Torre, it is considered a pinnacle of modernist architecture. At the time of ...
and
Plaza Hotel
The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...
(officially on Florida St.) and passes by the former Haedo and Paz palaces (today public buildings) before leaving the plaza's leafy surroundings. It continues westward along the
Retiro area, passing by the Brunetta ("
Olivetti
Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been part of ...
") Building (built in 1964, one of the first in Buenos Aires designed in the
International Style International style may refer to:
* International Style (architecture), the early 20th century modern movement in architecture
*International style (art), the International Gothic style in medieval art
*International Style (dancing), a term used in ...
) and through the massive
Avenida 9 de Julio
July 9 Avenue (Spanish: ''Avenida 9 de Julio'') is a major thoroughfare in the city centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816.
The avenue runs around to the west of the Río de la Plata water ...
, which was opened through the Retiro area in the early 1970s. The
Greek Revivalist Argentine Scientific Society and the Art Deco Regina Theatre follow and, past
Avenida Callao
Callao Avenue ( es, Avenida Callao) is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Overview
Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in Paris at the direction of Baron Haussmann, drew up master pla ...
, Santa Fe Avenue enters its
Recoleta stretch. This stretch of the upscale thoroughfare is considered one of the main shopping districts in the city.
Just past Callao Avenue, the former Grand Splendid Theatre was converted in 2000 into the
El Ateneo Grand Splendid
El Ateneo Grand Splendid is a bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2008, ''The Guardian'' placed it as the second most beautiful bookshop in the world. In 2019, it was named the "world's most beautiful bookstore" by the ''National Geographic''.
...
bookstore, the most important in Latin America. Past
Pueyrredón Avenue Pueyrredón may refer to:
* ARA ''Pueyrredón'', a ''Garibaldi''-class armoured cruiser of the Argentine Navy
* Chilean brigantine ''Águila'' (1796), the first ship of the Chilean Navy, renamed ''Pueyrredón''
*Club Pueyrredón, a rugby union club ...
,
line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
of the
Buenos Aires Underground was laid out underneath Santa Fe in the 1920s. The availability of frequent subway stations past this point has helped maintain the more residential setting of the remaining stretches of the avenue. Past
Coronel Díaz Avenue, the avenue provides easy access to the
Alto Palermo Shopping Center
The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: ''altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In 4-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in choruses by ...
, one of the most important in Buenos Aires. Entering the
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
district, it continues past the
Buenos Aires Zoo
The Buenos Aires Eco Park ( es, Ecoparque de Buenos Aires) is an park in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The former zoo, opened in 1888, contained 89 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles and 175 species of birds, with a tot ...
, the
Botanical Garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
and
Plaza Italia, a point overlooked by the
Monument to the "Sword of Italy," Giuseppe Garibaldi. The avenue continues past the
Argentine Rural Society
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
's ornate exposition grounds and into the Carranza Viaduct, where it becomes Cabildo Avenue.
Visiting Argentina
References
External links
{{Coord, 34, 35, 32, S, 58, 24, 23, W, display=title
Santa Fe