Casa Rosada

Coordinates: 34°36′29″S 58°22′13″W / 34.60806°S 58.37028°W / -34.60806; -58.37028
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Casa Rosada
Eclectic
AddressBalcarce 50
Town or cityBuenos Aires
CountryArgentina
Coordinates34°36′29″S 58°22′13″W / 34.60806°S 58.37028°W / -34.60806; -58.37028
Current tenantsGovernment of Argentina
Construction started
  • Post Office: 1873 (1873)
  • Government House: 1882 (1882)
  • Unification: 1886 (1886)
Completed
  • Post Office: 1879 (1879)
  • Government House: 1886 (1886)
  • Unification: 1898 (1898)
Demolished1938 (partial)
ClientGovernment of Argentina
OwnerGovernment of Argentina
Technical details
Floor count4
Design and construction
Architect(s)
Main contractor
  • Franchi y Cía.
  • Agustín Ferrari y Cía.
  • L. Valcavi
  • L. Stremis y Cía.
National Historic Monument of Argentina

The Casa Rosada (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkasa roˈsaða]), literally the Pink House, 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 president lives at the Quinta de Olivos, the president of Argentina's official residence, located in Olivos, Greater Buenos Aires. The characteristic color of the Casa Rosada is baby pink, and it is considered one of the most emblematic buildings in Buenos Aires. The building also houses a museum, which contains objects relating to former presidents of Argentina. It has been declared a National Historic Monument of Argentina.

History

The Casa Rosada sits at the eastern end of the

Italianate structure was Buenos Aires' largest building from 1859 until the 1890s.[1][2]

The old fort's administrative annex, which survived the construction of Taylor's Customs House, was enlisted as the presidential offices by

Second Empire architecture.[1]

Presiding over an unprecedented socio-economic boom, President

Julio Roca commissioned architect Enrique Aberg to replace the cramped State House with one resembling the neighboring Central Post Office in 1882. Following works to integrate the two structures, Roca had architect Francesco Tamburini build the iconic Italianate archway between the two in 1884. The resulting State House, still known as the "Rose House", was completed in 1898 following its eastward enlargement, works which resulted in the destruction of the customs house.[1]

A Historical Museum was created in 1957 to display presidential memorabilia and selected belongings, such as sashes, batons, books, furniture, and three carriages. The remains of the former fort were partially excavated in 1984–85, and the uncovered structures were incorporated into the Museum of the Casa Rosada. Located behind the building, these works led to the rerouting of Paseo Colón Avenue, unifying the Casa Rosada with Parque Colón (Columbus Park) behind it. Plans were announced in 2009 for the restoration of surviving portions of Taylor's Customs House, as well.[4]

During 2001 riots in Argentina as protesters converged on streets around the palace, and the president Fernando de la Rúa was forced to resign, he fled the its premises by a helicopter, enacting a resounding news story.[5]

The Casa Rosada itself in 2006 underwent extensive renovation delayed by the

2001 economic crisis. The first phase was completed for the 2010 bicentennial of the May Revolution that led to independence, with a second phase begun in 2017.[1]

Evolution of the Casa Rosada

The Fort

Map of the Fort of 1708, with the first trace of the little Buenos Aires on the top
The old Fort in the 1850s

In 1536, Don Pedro de Mendoza established a settlement near the mouth of the Riachuelo de los Navíos, called Nuestra Señora del Buen Ayre. In 1580, Juan de Garay founded the city at the place which was to be the Plaza Mayor (nowadays Plaza de Mayo), naming it Santísima Trinidad while the port retained the name of the original settlement; the "Royal Fort of Don Juan Baltasar de Austria" was built in 1594. It was replaced in 1713 by a more solid construction with turrets, sentry boxes, a moat and a drawbridge that upon being completed in 1720 was given the name of "Castillo San Miguel" (St. Michael's Castle). President Bernardino Rivadavia modified the fort in 1820, and the drawbridge was replaced by a neoclassical portico. The site which was for defence purposes at that time and also seat of the Spanish and Home governments, is where Government House currently stands.[2]

In the Pink House Museum one of its cannon holes can be found in part of a storage room of the Royal Treasury's warehouse.[2]

New Customs House

Taylor's Customs House in 1864
View of the Taylor's Customs House, the Casa Rosada and Estación Central from Río de la Plata in 1885

Under the direction of the

English architect, Edward Taylor, the New Customs House was built in 1855 back to back with the rear walls of the Fort, facing the river. It is the first public building of great size built by the young mercantile State of Buenos Aires; its semicircular shape had five floors for depots and fifty one storage rooms with arched ceilings, surrounded by loggias. From the central tower at the top of which there was a clock and a beacon, stretched out a 300 m pier providing wharfaging for ships of greater draught to cast their anchors. Via two side ramps carts, loaded with goods, accessed the manoeuvring dock. It was used for almost forty years and it was demolished down to the first floor by the Madero Port project and its foundations are buried under what is today Colón Park.[2]

The Post Office Palace

The Post Office designed by Kihlberg in 1873
The original Casa Rosada and the Post Office before 1880
The former Post Office and State House shortly before their 1884 unification

President

Italian Renaissance Revival architecture and French Second Empire details.[2]

As Government House looked totally insignificant compared to this new post office building, President

Julio Roca called upon the department of civil engineers to produce a project for extending and repairing the former, and the project submitted by the Swedish architect, Enrique Aberg (Swedish: Henrik Åberg) was adopted. It proposed the demolition of the Fort and the construction of another building, identical to the post office, differentiating it by incorporating a long balcony on the first floor for the use of authorities during public festivities and parades. This was the end of the Fort of which only some walls and one of the cannon holes can be seen in the current Government House museum. For aesthetic reasons and to solve the problem of lack of space it was later decided that the Post Office building be incorporated into Government House. Architect Francesco Tamburini was commended this task. He designed a great central archway to join the two buildings into one, bringing together the surroundings where the New Customs House and Old Arcade were, interpreted by the architect as enveloping a central main axis on which the entrances were located, emphasized by a higher archway.[2]

The Palace

The house in October 26, 1898
Casa Rosada in a painting of 1910, this view of the back (now Parque Colón)
View from the Río de la Plata in 1920

The outlay of the buildings is three stories on Balcarce Street and four stories plus a basement/galleries of Government House Museum, on Avenida Paseo Colón, practically covering the footage of a whole bloc. All the original rooms that are on the three main

façades have direct ventilation and lighting, while the original internal rooms were designed in such a way that ventilation and light should come from the loggia that surround internal patios designed for this purpose. All, except one, were crowned by skylights, of which only two remain. The original structure consists of packwalls of varying thickness and slabs supported by brick counter ceilings with steel or wood roof lines, according to the sector. Following a long process of construction the current building was officially inaugurated in 1898, during the second presidency of General Julio Roca.[2]

Rooms

The president sits at his or her office on a seat known as the "Seat of Rivadavia". The seat itself did not actually belong to Bernardino Rivadavia, the first president of Argentina, but is instead a homage to the early statesman.[6]

The Hall of Busts houses marble busts of the many presidents of Argentina, made by diverse artists both national and international. The list, however, is not exhaustive, and subjected to political biases. President Néstor Kirchner ordered in 2006 the removal of all busts of presidents that took power during coups, but the busts of José Félix Uriburu, Pedro Pablo Ramírez and Edelmiro Julián Farrell were spared and finally removed during the administration of Mauricio Macri. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner broke the timeline order of the busts, and placed instead the busts of Kirchner, Raúl Alfonsín, Hipólito Yrigoyen and Juan Perón in a prominent location. The administration of Macri reordered the busts under the supervision of the National Academy of History of Argentina, and Alberto Fernández restored the order set by Cristina Kirchner. The internal regulations specify that presidents should have a bust 8 years after they leave office, but for varied reasons Isabel Perón, Carlos Menem, Fernando de la Rúa, Adolfo Rodríguez Saá and Eduardo Duhalde do not have busts as of 2022.[7]

34°36′29″S 58°22′13″W / 34.60806°S 58.37028°W / -34.60806; -58.37028

Interior

  • The President's office
    The President's office
  • Christ the King Chapel
    Christ the King Chapel
  • The Stained Glass Gallery
    The Stained Glass Gallery
  • The Hall of Busts
    The Hall of Busts
  • The Palm Tree Patio
    The Palm Tree Patio
  • The Salón Blanco
    The Salón Blanco
  • The Salón Blanco
    The Salón Blanco
  • The North Hall
    The North Hall
  • The South Hall
    The South Hall
  • Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Women
    Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Women
  • Hall of Bicentennial Patriots of Latin America
    Hall of Bicentennial Patriots of Latin America
  • Hall of Bicentennial Thinkers and Writers
    Hall of Bicentennial Thinkers and Writers
  • Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Scientists
    Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Scientists
  • Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Painters and Paintings (Blue Hall)
    Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Painters and Paintings (Blue Hall)
  • Presidential elevator
    Presidential elevator
  • Francia Stairs of Honour
    Francia Stairs of Honour
  • Italia Stairs of Honour
    Italia Stairs of Honour
  • Hall of Honour
    Hall of Honour

Exterior

  • View from Plaza de Mayo
    View from Plaza de Mayo
  • View of the north wing and the porte-cochère
    View of the north wing and the porte-cochère
  • Clock
    Clock
  • Entrance on Rivadavia Street
    Entrance on Rivadavia Street
  • The presidential balcony
    The presidential balcony
  • View from Puerto Madero
    View from Puerto Madero
  • The Italianate portico
    The Italianate portico
  • Equestrian statue of Manuel Belgrano
    Equestrian statue of Manuel Belgrano
  • Sculpture
    Sculpture
  • Coat of arms of Argentina
    Coat of arms of Argentina

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Museum of the Casa Rosada: history Archived June 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Casa Rosada: History (in Spanish)
  3. ^ Daniel Lewis, "Casa Rosada" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996, vol. 2, p. 2 citing James R. Scobie, Argentina: A City and a Nation, 2d edition (1971) pp. 163, 165.
  4. Museo de La Plata
    (in Spanish). 2013.
  5. ^ "Trauma of Argentine 'great crisis' lives on 20 years later". The Sun. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  6. ^ Cuando Rivadavia se fue con el sillón Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Camila Dolabjian (March 29, 2022). "Casa Rosada. Secretos, caprichos y pagos en dólares detrás de los bustos presidenciales" [Casa Rosada: Secrets, whims and payments in dollars behind the presidential busts] (in Spanish). La Nación. Retrieved March 29, 2022.

External links

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