Congressional Plaza
The Plaza del Congreso is a place in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. It is located in Balvanera district and is connected via the Avenida de Mayo with Plaza de Mayo. What looks at first glance as a single space, are actually three related spaces: the Plaza del Congreso, Plaza Lorea and Plaza Mariano Moreno.
History
The businessman Pedro Lorea bought in 1782 a two -acre plot of land west of the settlement of Buenos Aires and later donated approximately one-third of this country for a coach station. His descendants died in 1807 at the British invasions in 1808 and named viceroy Rafael de Sobremonte the station in honor of the deceased.
Until 1871, the Plaza Lorea was used for the above purpose. As the marshes were drained to the west of the square, there was a market on the Plaza Lorea a water tower was built and created a public park. Economic growth in the Buenos Aires of the 19th century and the construction of the Convention Centre from 1897 promoted the structural development of the Plaza Lorea, gradually grew out of the now famous square. The sculptor Juan Eugenio Boveri created for a new promenade 1896 the sculpture El Perdon ( it stands today on the west side of Parque Avellaneda ). 1907 cast of The Thinker by Rodin was purchased for the space.
The inauguration of the Conference Palace in 1906, then two blocks west of the Plaza Lorea located, accounted for aesthetic and urban planning reasons, the creation of a new adequate space necessary. On September 30, 1908 President José Figueroa Alcorta signed the Federal Law 6286, which the project was decided. The landscape architect and former director of city parks Carlos Thays saw this one about three hectares of land in front of the Congress Palace, parallel to the Avenida de Mayo in front, on the Calle Montevideo led. The design of Thays has been approved, as had to be demolished only a few buildings for the plant.
The Plaza del Congreso was inaugurated in January 1910 by Mayor Manuel Güiraldes and the President Figueroa Alcorta. Following the next hundred - year anniversary of the May Revolution on May 25, 1910 met the inauguration ceremony with various other openings of parks, streets and similar redesigns in the urban area, some of them also designed by Thays.
From 1910, the city administration, the Avenida de Mayo, and most other avenues and roads were converted to one-way streets at the decision. Due to traffic reasons, the Plaza Lorea was divided in 1910, in 1968 its southern half was merged with the Plaza Mariano Moreno. The Avenida de Mayo is true at this point with the Avenida Rivadavia together.
Overview
The Plaza del Congreso is dominated by the Monumento de los dos Congresos, the work of Belgian sculptor Jules Lagae of 1914. It reminds of the two conference meetings ( 1810 in Buenos Aires and 1816 in Tucumán ), which ultimately led to the independence of Argentina. Therefore, the place of many locals also known as Plaza de los dos Congresos is called. The sculptures, including an allegory of the Republic, stand on pedestals whose material was imported from Nancy. Before the sculpture a pool of water is applied which is meant to symbolize the Atlantic.
Since 1983, the vandalism increased in the monument, which is why in 1999 a fence was erected with gates around the monument. The opening of the gates in 2002 led to renewed damage, followed by a new fence was built in 2006.
The Plaza Mariano Moreno, was the southeastern part of the court system is separate from the Plaza del Congreso by Calle Montevideo. The name reminds us of the leaders of the May Revolution of 1810. A monument in his honor was inaugurated in 1910. On the Plaza Moreno is 0 to see all distances from Buenos Aires are measured from which since 1935 also of kilometers. Recently a monument to Ricardo Balbin was inaugurated in the square in 1999. Here also is The Thinker by Rodin. The then director of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Eduardo Schiaffino had made the purchase and actually provided along with Rodin a place on a pedestal in front of the Congress Palace - a plan that was not realized. However currently thinking about such a move.
The Plaza Lorea, today only half the size originally, is among the locals as Plazoleta (German: Cookies, small square) known. On it stands the monument to José Manuel Estrada of 1947.
In 1997, the three courts and the Monument de los were declared dos Congresos as an ensemble to the National Historical Monument. Legal basis was the Decree 437/97.