The ''Casa Rosada'' (, eng, Pink House) is the office of 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 ...

. 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 official residence of the president of Argentina, which is located in Olivos,

Greater Buenos Aires Greater Buenos Aires ( es, Gran Buenos Aires, GBA), also known as the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area ( es, Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, AMBA), refers to the urban agglomeration comprising the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the adj ...

. The characteristic color of the Casa Rosada is baby pink, and it is considered one of the most emblematic buildings 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 ...

. 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

Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (; en, May Square) is a city square and 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 kn ...

, a large square which since the 1580 foundation of

has been surrounded by many of the most important political institutions of the city and of Argentina. The site, originally at the shoreline of the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

, was first occupied by the "Fort of Juan Baltazar of Austria", a structure built on the orders of the founder of Buenos Aires, Captain

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 n ...

, in 1594. Its 1713 replacement by a masonry structure (the "Castle of San Miguel") complete with turrets made the spot the effective nerve center of colonial government. Following independence, President

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at ...

had a Neoclassical portico built at the entrance in 1825, and the building remained unchanged until, in 1857, the fort was demolished in favor of a new customs building. Under the direction of British Argentine architect Edward Taylor, the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

structure functioned as Buenos Aires' largest building from 1859 until the 1890s.Museum of the Casa Rosada: history
Casa Rosada: History
The old fort's administrative annex, which survived the construction of Taylor's Customs House, was enlisted as the presidential offices by

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina. Mitre is known as the most versatile s ...

in the 1860s and his successor,

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...

, who beautified the drab building with patios, gardens and wrought-iron grillwork, had the exterior painted pink reportedly in order to defuse political tensions by mixing the red and white colors of the country's two opposing political parties: red was the color of the Federalists, while white was the color of the Unitarians. An alternative explanation suggests that the original paint contained cow's blood to prevent damage from the effects of

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

. Sarmiento also authorized the construction of the Central Post Office next door in 1873, commissioning Swedish Argentine architect Carl Kihlberg, who designed this, one of the first of Buenos Aires' many examples of Second Empire architecture. 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 Francesco Tamburini (1846 in Ascoli Piceno, Italy – 1891 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Italian-born architect who designed many important architectural landmarks in Argentina. He studied architecture in Italy and arrived in Argentina in ...

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. 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. 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 The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

that led to independence, with a second phase begun in 2017.

Evolution of the Casa Rosada

The Fort

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,

founded the city at the place which was to be the Plaza Mayor (nowadays

), 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

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. 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.

New Customs House

Under the direction of the English architect,

Edward Taylor Edward Taylor (1642 – June 29, 1729) was a colonial American poet, pastor and physician of English origin. His work remained unpublished for some 200 years but since then has established him as one of the foremost writers of his time. His poe ...

, 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

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

s. 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.

The Post Office Palace

President

ordered the construction of the Postal headquarters in 1873 on open ground that had remained after the south wing of the

Fort had been demolished. This project was carried out by the Swedish architect Carlos Kihlberg (Swedish:Carl August Kihlberg), with a design inspired by

Italian Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

and French Second Empire details. 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

was commended this task. He designed a great central

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

way 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.

The Palace

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

skylight A skylight (sometimes called a rooflight) is a light-permitting structure or window, usually made of transparent or translucent glass, that forms all or part of the roof space of a building for daylighting and ventilation purposes. History Open ...

s, 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.

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

, the first president of Argentina, but is instead a homage to the early statesman. 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 Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President o ...

broke the timeline order of the busts, and placed instead the busts of Kirchner, Raúl Alfonsín,

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

and

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected ...

in a prominent location. The administration of Macri reordered the busts under the supervision of the

National Academy of History of Argentina The National Academy of History of the Argentine Republic ( es, Academia Nacional de la Historia de la República Argentina) is a non-profit learned society established to foster the study and dissemination of Argentine history. Overview Founded ...

, 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 Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas, 4 February 1931), also known as Isabelita, is an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the first female republican heads ...

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...

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 ...

Adolfo Rodríguez Saá Adolfo Rodríguez Saá (born 25 July 1947) is an Argentine Peronist politician. Born in a family that was highly influential in the history of the San Luis Province, he became the province's governor in 1983, after the end of the National R ...

and

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentine Peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President and Governor of Buenos Aires in the 1990s. Bo ...

do not have busts as of 2022.

Interior

File:Despacho Presidencial argentino 2.JPG, The President's office File:Capilla Cristo Rey.jpg, Christ the King Chapel File:Galeria de los vitrales.JPG, The Stained Glass Gallery File:Salón de los bustos, Casa Rosada.jpg, The Hall of Busts File:Patio de las Palmeras, Casa Rosada.jpg, The Palm Tree Patio File:Salón Blanco en la Casa Rosada (1416776700) Buenos Aires, Argentina.jpg, The Salón Blanco File:Salón Blanco.jpg, The Salón Blanco File:Salón Norte 2.JPG, The North Hall File:Salón Sur 2.JPG, The South Hall File:Salón Mujeres del Bicentenario.JPG, Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Women File:Salon Patriotas Casa Rosada .jpg, Hall of Bicentennial Patriots of Latin America File:Salondelosescritoresypensadoresdelbicentenario.jpg, Hall of Bicentennial Thinkers and Writers File:CABA - Monserrat - Casa Rosada - Salón de los Científicos Argentinos del Bicentenario.jpg, Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Scientists File:Salón Azul - Palacio de Gobierno de la República Argentina.jpg, Hall of Argentine Bicentennial Painters and Paintings (Blue Hall) File:Ascensor presidencial.JPG, Presidential elevator File:Escalera Francia.jpg, Francia Stairs of Honour File:Escalera Italia.jpg, Italia Stairs of Honour File:Hall de Honor - Salón de Bustos · Casa Rosada.jpg, Hall of Honour

Exterior

File:Acceso por Rivadavia.jpg, Entrance on Rivadavia Street File:Casa Rosada-ART.JPG, The presidential balcony File:Colon-Casa Rosada-TM.jpg, Monument to

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, behind the Casa Rosada. This monument was removed and placed near Jorge Newbery Airfield. File:Casa Rosada02.jpg, The Italianate portico File:Casa Rosada 20120317 190647.jpg, Portico File:Casa de Gobierno- Casa Rosada Lateral.JPG, View of the north wing and the porte-cochère File:Aduana Vieja (1888).jpg, Casa Rosada (center) in 1888 File:Casa Rosada (1876).jpg, Casa Rosada (1876) File:Casa Rosada fuente 1920 Plaza Colón.jpg, View from the river (1920), with fountain where now is Plaza Colon

References

External links

Official site

YouTube channel
{{Authority control Official residences in Argentina Government buildings in Argentina Presidential residences Palaces in Buenos Aires National Historic Monuments of Argentina Houses completed in 1884 Neoclassical architecture in Argentina Neoclassical palaces Museums in Buenos Aires History museums in Argentina 1938 disestablishments in Argentina 1879 establishments in Argentina 1886 establishments in Argentina 1898 establishments in Argentina