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Retiro is a ''
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...
'' or neighborhood in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. Located in the northeast end of the city, Retiro is bordered on the south by the
Puerto Madero Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, ''barrio'' of Buenos Aires in the Buenos Aires Central Business District, Central Business District. Occup ...
and San Nicolás, and on the west by the Recoleta.


History

Towards the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th was installed in the area, an
asiento The () was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide Slavery in colonial Spanish America, enslaved Africans to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the trans- ...
of slaves belonging to the Compagnie de Guinée and
South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...
, that operated until 1739. In 1800 began the construction of
Plaza de Toros del Retiro Plaza de Toros del Retiro was a bullfighting coliseum of Buenos Aires of the 19th century. This Bullring, Arena was established in the city during the last years of the colonial period. History The Plaza de Toros del Retiro was made by the ar ...
, a stadium of bullfighting built by the architect Francisco Cañete, that worked until 1819. In the Plaza de Toros took place the battles between the troops of
Santiago de Liniers Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, Order of Montesa, KOM, Order of Malta, OM (July 25, 1753 – August 26, 1810) was a Spanish military officer and a viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Alt ...
and the
British army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
, occurred during the English invasions of 1806 and 1807. In 1821 was installed the first dissident cemetery of Buenos Aires, located in the vicinity of Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Socorro. This cemetery was place were buried the people who professed the Protestant religion, mostly English. The dissident cemetery operated in the neighborhood of Retiro until 1833, and was transferred that same year to the neighborhood of
Balvanera Balvanera is a Barrios of Buenos Aires, barrio or neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Origin of name and alternative names The official name, Balvanera, is the name of the ''parroquia'' (parish) centered around the church of ''Nuestra Seño ...
. In 1854, was established in the neighborhood the Compañía Primitiva de Gas de Buenos Aires Ltda., a British gas company, that worked until it was nationalized in 1944. In 1910 the British residents of Buenos Aires financed the construction of the Torre de los Ingleses (renamed in 1982 to ''Torre Monumental''), on the occasion of the centenary of the
May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...
. The work was entrusted to the English architect Ambrose Macdonald Poynter, being inaugurated by the president Victorino de la Plaza on May 24, 1916 .


Urban character

Retiro is one of the largest hubs of transportation services in Argentina, and is home to many high-end stores and residential areas popular among both local wealthy gentry and expatriate executives. About 26,000 of its people, however, including thousands of
illegal immigrant Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...
s, live in the " Villa 31" shantytown built along the
Port of Buenos Aires The Port of 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 for the foreign trade of Arge ...
from the 1930s onwards. Local and long distance rail service heading to the north originate from Estación Retiro (''Retiro train terminal''), also a major long-distance
bus terminal A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...
(''Terminal de Ómnibus'') is located adjacent to the station, ''subte'' line C of the Buenos Aires Metro system and numerous local public bus services, this area is always teeming with commuters and traffic on weekdays. A major thoroughfare is Avenida del Libertador, which becomes Avenida Leandro N. Alem past the Retiro train terminal. Avenida Leandro Alem runs north-to-south along the
Buenos Aires Central Business District The Buenos Aires Central Business District is the main commercial centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina, though not an official Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, city ward. While the ''Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, barrios'' of Puerto Madero and ...
, which Retiro shares with the San Nicolás ward; the Retiro section of the business district is centered on the Catalinas Norte office park, initially built in the 1970s over docklands developed a century earlier by Francisco Seeber. Other principal streets and avenues in Retiro are Santa Fe, Córdoba, and Libertador Avenues, pedestrian Calle Florida, and
Avenida 9 de Julio Avenida 9 de Julio () is a major thoroughfare in the city centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentine Declaration of Independence, Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816. The avenue runs around to the west of the Río de la ...
. The Retiro section of Calle Florida was the site of Harrods Buenos Aires, originally the
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
department store's only overseas affiliate, from 1914 to 1998; the abandoned landmark continued to host art shows and
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 ...
festivals, and permits were obtained in 2009 to reopen the retailer. Another Retiro landmark spared demolition was the Ortiz Basualdo Palace. Completed in 1912 as a private residence, it was acquired by the
French Government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...
for use as its Embassy in Argentina in 1939. When entire blocks of housing were razed to make way for an extension of the Avenida 9 de Julio in the late 1970s, the embassy was spared due to its landmark status, and remains the lone building in the midst of intense traffic. The neighboring Pereda Palace, built in 1920, serves as the official residence of the Ambassador of Brazil. Retiro is home to a number of five star hotels, including the Four Seasons, Marriott Plaza, Sheraton, and
Sofitel Sofitel Hotels & Resorts is a French hotel chain of luxury hotels based in Paris, France, and owned by Accor since 1980. Founded in 1964 in France, Sofitel quickly developed worldwide to reach more than 200 properties. In 2008, Sofitel became a b ...
. The oldest of these, the Marriott Plaza, was opened in 1909 and faces Plaza San Martín, to the north of which lies the train terminal and the Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina (formerly ''Plaza Británica''), where the
Torre Monumental Torre Monumental ( Spanish for "Monumental Tower"), formerly known as Torre de los Ingleses ("Tower of the English"), is a clock tower located in the ''barrio'' (district) of Retiro in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is situated in the Plaza Fuerza ...
(formerly ''Torre de los Ingleses'') is located; the
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 ...
monument was donated by the Anglo-Argentine community for the 1910 centennial celebrations, and suffered several acts of sabotage in the wake of the 1982
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
. Also nearby are the Basílica Santísimo Sacramento, the upscale Patio Bullrich shopping arcade, the Estrugamou Building, the Fernández Blanco Museum, and the Peace Plaza - the site of the former
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i Embassy, which was bombed on March 17, 1992, with a toll of 29 dead and 242 wounded, marking the first known South American incident of
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
-related terrorism. The numerous government agencies headquartered in the district include the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
, the
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
, the National Mint, and the Rail Transport Agency; the former Hotel de Inmigrantes, the primary point of entry for millions of
immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
from 1911 to 1953, is also in Retiro and today serves as a national museum.


Plaza San Martín

Across the street opposite Retiro train terminal is the leafy Plaza San Martín, surrounded by great palaces and hotels. The Retiro lowlands were once the training grounds for General
José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (; 25 February 177817 August 1850), nicknamed "the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru", was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and central parts of South America's succe ...
's
Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers The Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers "General San Martín" () is the name of two Argentine Army regiments of two different time periods: a historic regiment that operated from 1812 to 1826, and a modern cavalry unit that was organized in 1903. The ...
, and the modern-day Plaza San Martín features an equestrian monument to the hero of the
Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...
, as well as a memorial to the dead in the Falklands War. The most significant landmark opposite the plaza is the Kavanagh Building, a
reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...
structure finished in 1936 that, at the time, was the tallest building in Latin America at . Funded by an Irish Argentine woman, the Kavanagh stands on the northern end of pedestrian Calle Florida, and its construction followed the plaza's extensive redesign, which resulted in the demolition of a number of derelict buildings from the colonial era, though also of the original National Museum of Fine Arts, an ornate pavilion used for the 1889 Paris Exposition. Other architecturally significant landmarks facing the plaza include the Paz Palace, the
San Martín Palace San Martín Palace (''Palacio San Martín'') is located facing Plaza San Martín in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina and serves as the Ceremonial Headquarters for the Ministry of Foreign Relations. History The Beaux Arts ...
, and the Olivetti and Pirelli skyscrapers, which were among the first in the city built in the
International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...
. File:Retiro room view.jpg, File:Buenos Aires - Plaza Libertad 067.jpg, File:Buenos_Aires_-_Florida_y_C%C3%B3rdoba.jpg, File:Palacio San Martín.jpg, File:9 de Julio (Retiro).jpg,
Avenida 9 de Julio Avenida 9 de Julio () is a major thoroughfare in the city centre of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentine Declaration of Independence, Argentina's Independence Day, July 9, 1816. The avenue runs around to the west of the Río de la ...
File:Leandro Alem Buenos Aires 37.jpg, File:Santa Fe Avenue past Plaza San Martin.jpg,


References


External links


Unofficial Retiro guide with pictures and sightseeings
{{Coord, 34, 35, 41, S, 58, 22, 33, W, region:AR-C_type:city(45000), display=title Neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires