Torre Monumental (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

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 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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. It is situated in the

Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Spanish language, Spanish for "Argentine Air Force Square") is a square located in the Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, ''barrio'' (district) of Retiro, Buenos Aires, Retiro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The sq ...

(formerly ''Plaza Británica'') by Avenida San Martín and Avenida del Libertador. It was a gift from the local

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

community to the city in commemoration of the centennial of the May Revolution 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 ...

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 centennial of the May Revolution. 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 Galerías Pacífico is a shopping centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located at the intersection of Florida Street and Córdoba Avenue. Overview The Beaux Arts building was designed by the architects Emilio Agrelo and Roland Le Vacher in 1889 t ...

, 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 Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

. The tower was built by Hopkins y Gardom, with materials shipped from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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 ...

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 Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

on May 6, 1910, prompted the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

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 the national cons ...

Victorino de la Plaza Victorino de la Plaza y Palacios (2 November 1840 – 2 October 1919) was an Argentine politician and lawyer who served as President of Argentina from 9 August 1914 to 11 October 1916. As the second son of José Roque Mariano de la Plaza E ...

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 "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

Square"). The war has triggered acts of

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

against the tower, including a

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germany, and patented in 1867. It rapidl ...

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 Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) was an Argentine politician and a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) political party who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001. De la Rúa was born in ...

(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 Port of Buenos Aires ( es, Puerto de Buenos Aires) is the principal maritime port in Argentina. Operated by the ''Administración General de Puertos'' (General Ports Administration), a state enterprise, it is the leading transshipment point fo ...

; 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 Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

Description

The tower is built in

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style, the building is decorated with symbols of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

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 Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The tower is topped by an octagonal copper roofed

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

. 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