Avenida Santa Fe is one of the principal thoroughfares 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 ...

. The artery is essential to the imaginary axis of Barrio Norte in Buenos Aires, comprising the areas influenced by the route of the avenue through Retiro, Recoleta and

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

neighborhoods, it is considered one of the main shopping and strolling areas of the city, its many boutiques range from elegant to edgy, which has led it to be dubbed the 'Avenue of Fashion'. Upscale Alto Palermo, at Avenida Coronel Díaz, is one of the city's best-known vertical malls. Avenida Santa Fe is also an attraction for its architecture, strongly reminiscent of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Its name pays homage to the eponymous province in Argentina.

History

First laid out in colonial Buenos Aires as ''San Gregorio Street'' in 1774, it was at the time the northern limit of the growing port city. Following the

British invasions of the Río de la Plata The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argenti ...

in 1806, it was renamed for one of the popular heroes of the invasion's defeat, Pío Rodríguez. The declaration of autonomy from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

in 1810 led city officials to rename it ''Calle Estrecha'' (the "Narrow Street"). The progressive Governor of the

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Martín Rodríguez, had the narrow street widened in 1822, following which

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 th ...

, the first

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

, renamed it ''Santa Fe Avenue''. Mayor

Torcuato de Alvear Torcuato de Alvear y Saenz de la Quintanilla (12 April 1822 – 8 December 1890) was an Argentina, Argentine conservative politician. He was the son of soldier and statesman Carlos María de Alvear and father of Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, presi ...

, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in

at the hand of

Baron Haussmann Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

, drew up master plans for major boulevards, running east to west, every six blocks and in the 1880s, the avenue was included in the plan and widened. A 1967 ordinance made the avenue a one-way thoroughfare, west to east.

Overview

Santa Fe Avenue officially begins on the southern end of Plaza San Martín and the northern end of pedestrian

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 ...

. The avenue affords a view of the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

Kavanagh Building The Kavanagh Building () is a residential skyscraper in Retiro, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Designed in 1934 by architects Gregorio Sánchez, Ernesto Lagos and Luis María de la Torre, it is considered a pinnacle of modernist architecture. At the t ...

and

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...

(officially on Florida St.) and passes by the former Haedo and Paz palaces (today public buildings) before leaving the plaza's leafy surroundings. It continues westward along the Retiro area, passing by the Brunetta ("

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been owned b ...

") Building (built in 1964, one of the first in Buenos Aires designed 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 ...

) and through the massive

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 ...

, which was opened through the Retiro area in the early 1970s. The Greek Revivalist Argentine Scientific Society and the Art Deco Regina Theatre follow and, past

Avenida Callao Callao Avenue () is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Overview Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in Paris at the direction of Baron Haussmann, drew up master plans for major boul ...

, Santa Fe Avenue enters its Recoleta stretch. This stretch of the upscale thoroughfare is considered one of the main shopping districts in the city. Just past Callao Avenue, the former Grand Splendid Theatre was converted in 2000 into the

El Ateneo Grand Splendid El Ateneo Grand Splendid is a bookshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2008, ''The Guardian'' placed it as the second most beautiful bookshop in the world. In 2019, it was named the "world's most beautiful bookstore" by the '' National Geographic''. ...

bookstore, the most important in Latin America. Past

Pueyrredón Avenue Pueyrredón may refer to: * ARA ''Pueyrredón'', a ''Garibaldi''-class armoured cruiser of the Argentine Navy * Chilean brigantine ''Águila'' (1796), the first ship of the Chilean Navy, renamed ''Pueyrredón'' * Club Pueyrredón, a rugby union clu ...

, line of the

Buenos Aires Underground The Buenos Aires Underground (), locally known as Subte (), is a rapid transit system that serves the area of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first section of this network (Plaza de Mayo–Plaza Miserere) opened in 1913, making it the L ...

was laid out underneath Santa Fe in the 1920s. The availability of frequent subway stations past this point has helped maintain the more residential setting of the remaining stretches of the avenue. Past Coronel Díaz Avenue, the avenue provides easy access to the Alto Palermo Shopping Center, one of the most important in Buenos Aires. Entering the

district, it continues past the

Buenos Aires Zoo The Buenos Aires Eco Park () is an park in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The former zoo, opened in 1888, contained 89 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles and 175 species of birds, with a total of over 2,500 animals. The ...

, the

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

and Plaza Italia, a point overlooked by the Monument to the "Sword of Italy," Giuseppe Garibaldi. The avenue continues past the Argentine Rural Society's ornate exposition grounds and into the Carranza Viaduct, where it becomes Cabildo Avenue.Visiting Argentina

References

External links

{{Coord, 34, 35, 32, S, 58, 24, 23, W, display=title Santa Fe