The Buenos Aires Central Post Office (, also known as the Palacio de Correos y Telecomunicaciones) building, now the "Palacio Libertad", was the seat of the '' Correo Argentino'' (Argentine Post Office Department) until 2002. It is located in the

San Nicolás, Buenos Aires San Nicolás is one of the neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina, sharing most of the city and national government Neighborhood of Buenos Aires with neighboring Montserrat and home to much of the financial sector. It is referred usually as ...

neighborhood of

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 building was designed in the Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style and with

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...

elements by French architect Norbert Maillart. Construction started in 1899, and after several long pauses and changes to Maillart's original design, was finally opened in 1928. The Palacio de Correos was declared National Heritage in 1997 due to its architectural style, historical relevance and the artworks inside the building. It ceased activities as a post office in 2002 and two years later the National Government called a tender to turn the building into a

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of

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 first name chosen was "Centro Cultural del Bicentenario", changing to "Néstor Kirchner Cultural Centre" in 2012. The Central Post Office building, after extensive renovations, construction, and restoration, which opened in May 2015. It is the largest

cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, and 4th largest in the world.NPR.org: "In Argentina, Where Culture Is 'A Right,' A Free New Arts Center Opens"
, 3 October 2015.

History

Original project

Palacio de Correos y Telegrafos de Buenos Aires

Due to the increasing demand for post services in Argentina, in 1888 the Post Office director, Ramón Cárcano, proposed a specific building as seat for the

Postal Service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

. The Ministry of Public Works hired French architect Norbert-Auguste Maillart to design the building and carry out the project. Maillart's concept building was based on the City Hall Post Office of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Once the project received approval from the president

Miguel Juárez Celman --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

, Maillart started works in 1889 on land given by the society ''Las Catalinas'', sited on the block among Leandro N. Alem Ave., Corrientes Ave., Bouchard and Sarmiento streets. Works were interrupted in 1890 because of the economic crash that caused the fall of president Juárez Celman.

Modifications

It was not until 1905 when the National government released funds to finish the building. Many years had passed and the original project by Maillart involved a smaller building became obsolete due to the increasing demand for postal services. Therefore, the post director Ernesto Bosch, proposed a new design for the building and Maillart was hired again in 1908 to carry out the new project. Unlike the previous project, the new building would have an entrance on Sarmiento street. To facilitate access to building for people, it was planned to build bridges and pedestrian areas, installed on arches and columns that would join the upper border of the 25 de Mayo street with the entrances of the building. Besides,

inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

s would be placed to connect those streets with Leandro N. Alem avenue. Some surrounding buildings, such as the Stock Exchange of Buenos Aires and the Calvet Building were constructed according to that project that finally was never carried out.

Final version

In 1911 Maillart retired from the project in disagreement with the authorities. The National Direction of Architecture appointed Maillart's main collaborator,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n Jacques Spolsky to continue the project. Spolsky had already designed the Palacio de Correos of Tucumán and its homonym of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

. After Spolsky was designated the original project was significantly modified. Some of the changes included a metallic structure and the use of materials such as

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

. Due to the land having been reclaimed from the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), 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, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, it was necessary to sink 2,882 concrete piles to avoid problems with the foundations. In 1916, one year after the company hired for the construction of the building transferred the contract to Public Works General Company, the executive authority suspended the construction of the bridges and inclined planes due to the economic crisis and the lack of materials due to the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As a result, some concepts of the palace had to be changed. The picture windows on the second floor (Sarmiento street side) had been originally conceived as entrances, therefore

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...

s were added while some floors were demolished to convert first and second basements into main hall entrances, putting the windows there. Funds ran out in 1923 so a new law was promulgated to grant new funds, while works were awarded to a new company. The building was finally inaugurated on September 28, 1928, two weeks before then president of Argentina Marcelo T. de Alvear finished his term. During the first terms of president

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

, he and his wife

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until ...

had their offices at the Buenos Aires Central Post Office. The Eva Perón Foundation also used the building as its headquarters. In 1997, the Palacio de Correos was declared National Historic Monument by Law 12,665, considering its architectural style and historic relevance. In 2002 the building ceased operations as seat of Correo Argentino."El Palacio de Correos dejó de recibir y de distribuir cartas"
, ''La Nación'', 7 Sep 2002 Only a small part of the building continued its activities as a post office and sale of

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

, on Sarmiento Street.

References

External links