Torre Monumental ( Spanish for "Monumental Tower"), formerly known as Torre de los Ingleses ("Tower of the English"), is a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

located in the ''barrio'' (district) of Retiro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is situated in the Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina (formerly ''Plaza Británica'') by

Avenida San Martín San Martín Avenue ( es, Avenida San Martín) is the main thoroughfare of the historic centre of Tacna, Peru. It houses landmarks such as the Cathedral, the Parabolic Arch, the Ornamental Fountain, the of Jorge Basadre and the former Munic ...

and Avenida del Libertador. It was a gift from the local British community to the city in commemoration of the

centennial of the May Revolution {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of 1810. After the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

in 1982, the tower's original name was dropped, though some still call it ''Torre de los Ingleses''.

History

On September 18, 1909 the

Argentine National Congress The Congress of the Argentine Nation ( es, Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the legislative branch of the government of Argentina. Its composition is bicameral, constituted by a 72-seat Senate and a 257-seat Chamber of Deputies. The Senate ...

passed Law N° 6368, consisting of an offer by the British residents of Buenos Aires to erect a monumental column to commemorate the

. Although the centenary monument was initially considered to be a column, it ultimately took the form of the clock tower. A 1910 exhibition of project proposals at the ''Salón del Bon Marché'', today the Galerías Pacífico, resulted in the jury's award to English architect Sir Ambrose Macdonald Poynter (1867–1923), nephew of the founder of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The tower was built by Hopkins y Gardom, with materials shipped from England such as the white

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

and the

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

s from

Stonehouse, Gloucestershire Stonehouse is a town in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire in southwestern England. The town centre is 2.5 miles east of the M5 motorway, junction 13. Stonehouse railway station has a regular train service to London. The town is situated ...

(see below). The technical personnel responsible for the construction also came from England. The sudden death of King Edward VII on May 6, 1910, prompted the United Kingdom to cancel its delegation to the Centenary celebrations, and the cornerstone was not laid until November 26. Other delays that followed were due to the late vacationing of the gas company that was installed in the square in 1912 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914. The inauguration of the building took place on May 24, 1916 and was attended by the

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 ...

Victorino de la Plaza and British dignitaries led by the minister plenipotentiary Reginald Tower. In 1982, bitterness over the

and Argentina's subsequent defeat led to a sharp rise in anti-British sentiment. The tower was renamed ''Torre Monumental'' ("Monumental Tower") and the square where the tower is situated ''Plaza Británica'' ("British Square") was renamed ''Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina'' (" Argentine Air Force Square"). The war has triggered acts of vandalism against the tower, including a

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

explosion detonated at its base in November 1984 (in which, however, the monument sustained only minor damage). During the government of Mayor Fernando de la Rúa (1996–1999), the tower underwent extensive restoration. Public access was restored and a glass lift to the 6th floor, utilising the original British machinery, was opened. The 6th floor features a small exhibition of elements of the original lift and a view over the district of Retiro, Retiro railway terminal and the Port of Buenos Aires; the clock pendulum is accessible on the 7th floor. In 2006 the building was closed to the public for technical maintenance. The building is occasionally painted with anti-British graffiti.

Description

The tower is built in Palladian style, the building is decorated with symbols of the British Empire and features the thistle of Scotland, the English rose, the Welsh dragon and the Irish shamrock. The tower reaches a height of and has eight floors. There are clocks at the level, and the bells were designed in imitation of the ones at Westminster Abbey. The tower is topped by an octagonal copper roofed cupola. Above the entrance there are the shields of Argentina and Great Britain and the inscription ''"al gran pueblo argentino, los residentes británicos, salud, 25 de mayo 1810-1910"'' ("To the health of the great Argentine people, from the British residents, May 25, 1810–1910").

Gallery

File:Torre Monumental-Plano-1910.jpg, File:Torre_Monumental_Buenos_Aires_con_Palomas.JPG, File:CABA_-_Retiro_-_Torre_Monumental.jpg, File:Plaza_y_Ex-_Torre_de_lo_Ingleses.JPG, File:Plaza_Fuerza_Aérea_Argentina.jpg, File:La Torre Monumental.jpg, File:Torre Monumental April 2005.jpg, File:2011.10.17.173636_Escudo_Torre_Monumental_Retiro_Buenos_Aires.jpg, File:Torre Monumental Retiro.jpg, File:Torre_Monumental_-_2.jpg,

References

External links

Official site

Datasheet at Towerclocks.org

{{Buenos Aires landmarks Towers completed in 1916 Buildings and structures in Buenos Aires Tourist attractions in Buenos Aires Bell towers Clock towers in Argentina