Monserrat or Montserrat () is a neighbourhood in the east of the
Buenos Aires CBD
The Buenos Aires Central Business District is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina, though not an official city ward. While the '' barrios'' of Puerto Madero and Retiro house important business complexes and modern high-rise arc ...
. The district features some of the most important public buildings in Buenos Aires, including city hall, the city legislature,
Casa Rosada
The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
, the
Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires and the
Libertador Building (
Ministry of Defense), among others.
Avenida de Mayo
May Avenue () is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue.
History and overview
Built on an initiati ...
runs through the Monserrat district, connecting
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
and the Plaza de los Dos Congresos (Congressional Plaza).
A block, or two, south of the Plaza de Mayo, the older section of Monserrat begins. This is Buenos Aires' oldest neighborhood and even today, very little of the cityscape there is less than a hundred years old (except along
Belgrano Avenue), thereby making a nearly seamless transition to the likewise historic
San Telmo
San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis, it hosts some of its oldest buildings. One of the birthplace ...
district, to the south.
History
The Monserrat area traces its origins to the foundation of Buenos Aires itself, when, in 1580, Spanish
Adelantado
''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...
Juan de Garay
Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador.
Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's ...
disembarked on the area's shores. The Fort of Juan Baltazar of Austria, the marginal settlement's first, was built in 1594 and, in 1608, newly arrived
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s were granted a 2-hectare (5 acre) lot, nearby. The Jesuits began work on the
Saint Ignatius Church in 1686. Consecrated in 1734, it is the oldest existing church in Buenos Aires. Possessing the finest school and library at the time and offering colonial Buenos Aires' only truly classical education there, their property became popularly known as the "
Illuminated Block
The Illuminated Block () is a historical landmark in the Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Monserrat neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
History
The Society of Jesus arrived in the newly founded village of ''Buenos Ayres'' in 1608, establishing the ...
." The small city's growing population led to the introduction of a number of other religious orders in this area, notably the
Catalan Brotherhood of the
Virgin of Montserrat
Our Lady of Montserrat or the Virgin of Montserrat () is a Marian title associated with a statue of the Madonna and Child venerated at the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery on Montserrat mountain in Catalonia, Spain. She is the patroness sai ...
, whose chapel became the neighborhood namesake in 1769. The
Cabildo (City hall) became the scene of the 1810
pronouncements in favor of autonomy that later led to independence and, to commemorate the fact, in 1811 the iconic
May Pyramid was placed in what later became the
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
.
Little changed over the next seventy years, Monserrat's muddy shore and typically colonial grid of cobblestone streets came under a rapid modernization following Argentina's sudden economic development after 1875. Land reclamation and the creation of docks parallel to the area led to the construction of Paseo Colón (still a major thoroughfare) along Monserrat's eastern edge. The area's two adjoining squares became the
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
in 1884, a milestone joined by the completion of the presidential executive building, the
Casa Rosada
The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
. This was followed by the massive razing of colonial architecture (including part of the Cabildo) to make way for the
Avenida de Mayo
May Avenue () is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue.
History and overview
Built on an initiati ...
, opened in 1894 and
Congressional Plaza, in 1910. The avenue became home to the
Buenos Aires Metro's first stations, in 1913.
The area's led central location and its presence therein of much of Argentina's governmental structure led to monumental construction over the next twenty years, notable among which are the
Buenos Aires City Legislature
The Buenos Aires City Legislature (, commonly known as the ) is the legislative power of the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is housed in the Buenos Aires City Legislature Palace, Legislature Palace (), an archite ...
, the
Customs building, the offices of ''
La Prensa'' (today the
Buenos Aires House of Culture
The Buenos Aires House of Culture is an architectural landmark in the Montserrat section of the Argentine capital.
Overview
The outmoded headquarters of what was then Argentina's second-largest newspaper, '' La Prensa'', led its influential propr ...
), the art-deco
NH City Hotel (off the Plaza de Mayo), the Ministry of Defense and
South Diagonal Avenue. Monserrat's western half was partitioned from the rest by the southward expansion of the massive
Nueve de Julio Avenue around 1950 and, partial to trendy high-rises, much of Monserrat's middle class and commercial office space market left, afterwards. The area became a largely bohemian quarter popular with
tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...
performers and artists, as well as many who preferred the area's close proximity to the growing
financial district
A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
to the north and its relatively low rent scale. Its rich architectural history and quaint, narrow streets have, as in neighboring
San Telmo
San Telmo ("Saint Pedro González Telmo") is the oldest ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio'' (neighborhood) of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A well-preserved area of the Argentine metropolis, it hosts some of its oldest buildings. One of the birthplace ...
, helped lead to renewed interest in Monserrat since around 1990, a change highlighted by the 1993 opening of the high-rise InterContinental Hotel. The area's numerous
Spanish restaurants and social clubs belonging to Buenos Aires' large
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...
community have long associated Monserrat with local Spanish tradition, helping make it attractive to tourism for cultural reasons, as well as those of ambiance.
Among its historic buildings is the house where Viceroy
Santiago Liniers lived. This historical site is known by the name of
Casa de Liniers, and is located on the street Venezuela 469. Another of the historical sites is the
Iglesia Presbiteriana San Andrés, a Presbyterian church located on Belgrano Avenue.
Gallery
File:Buenos Aires Subte station Peru.jpg, Vintage entrance to ''subte'' Line A of the Buenos Aires Metro on Avenida de Mayo
May Avenue () is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue.
History and overview
Built on an initiati ...
; behind it, City Hall
File:Buenos Aires - Monserrat - Avenida de Mayo entre Piedras y Chacabuco - 200807a.jpg, Architectural contrasts on the Avenida de Mayo
May Avenue () is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue.
History and overview
Built on an initiati ...
File:Sin ochava en Monserrat, Chacabuco e Hipólito Yrigoyen.jpg, Typical vintage corner in Monserrat
File:Plaza de Mayo Casa Rosada fuentes pirámide palmera.jpg, Eastward view of the Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
and Casa Rosada
The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
File:Manzana_de_las_Luces_vista_desde_arriba.jpg, The Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
Temple of St. Ignatius and the colonial Illuminated Block
The Illuminated Block () is a historical landmark in the Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Monserrat neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
History
The Society of Jesus arrived in the newly founded village of ''Buenos Ayres'' in 1608, establishing the ...
File:Edificio-libertador.JPG, The Ministry of Defense, the Libertador Building
File:FachadaMCBA.JPG, City Historical Museum
File:Buenos_Aires_-_Mausoleo_de_Belgrano_-_Convento_de_Santo_Domingo_-_20051212.jpg, Tomb of Argentine patriot Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...
at the Santo Domingo Convent
File:Palacio Barolo.JPG, Palacio Barolo
Palacio Barolo is a landmark office building, located at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, in the neighborhood of Monserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It stood as Buenos Aires' tallest building for more than a decade until the construction of the Kavanagh Bui ...
File:Diagonal Sur.jpg, Corner of South Diagonal and Belgrano Avenues
File:Buenos Aires - Monumento a Mariano Moreno.jpg, Monument to Mariano Moreno
Mariano Moreno (; September 23, 1778March 4, 1811) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution.
Moreno was bor ...
File:Buenos Aires - Monserrat - Edificio Otto Wulf - 200604.jpg, Otto Wulff Building, Belgrano Avenue
File:Perú y Rivadavia esq SO.jpg, Corner of Florida Street
Florida Street () is a popular shopping street in Buenos Aires CBD, Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913.
The Walkability, pedestrian section as such starts at the i ...
and Rivadavia Avenue
Avenida Rivadavia is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, extending from downtown Buenos Aires to the western suburb of Merlo. It is considered the third longest avenue in the world after Yonge Street (Toronto) and ...
File:Cuartel de Policía - Buenos Aires.JPG, Buenos Aires Police Headquarters
File:Buenos Aires - Avenida de Mayo - Teatro Avenida.jpg, Avenida Theatre
Notes
References
External links
Map of Monserrat
{{coord, 34, 36, 45, S, 58, 23, 00, W, region:AR-C_type:city, display=title
Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires