Edificio London París ( en, London Paris Building), also known as The Standard Life is a building located at the intersection of

18 de Julio Avenue Avenida 18 de Julio, or 18 de Julio Avenue, is the most important avenue in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is named after the date on which the country's first Constitution was sworn in, on July 18, 1830. It starts from Plaza Independencia at the lim ...

and Río Negro in

Centro, Montevideo Centro is the inner city ''barrio'' (neighbourhood or district) of Montevideo, Uruguay. Its main avenue is 18 de Julio Avenue. It is delimited by La Paz Str. to the North, Florida Str. (North of 18 de julio Av.) and Andes Str. (South of 18 de Julio ...

, Uruguay. Built between 1905 and 1908 in an eclectic style, it has variously been ascribed to the design of British architect

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

and Uruguayan Julián Masquelez. Between 1908 and 1966 it housed the department store London París.

History

Construction and design

Standard Life commissioned the construction of a building on the corner of 18 de Julio Avenue and Río Negro in 1890. Construction began in 1905. The building was designed in an eclectic style, and was one of the first tall buildings in Montevideo when opened in 1908. It is topped by a narrow zinc, columned cupula supporting an

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

figure, symbol of The Standard Life insurance company, which was at that time the largest in South America. The cupula is not accessible, lacking any stairs to this level. The three clocks that adorn the base of the dome are actually independent dials with a single central machine.

London Paris Department Store

The building is known for having been the headquarters of the eponymous department store, the first of its kind in Uruguay. It was founded in 1908 by Pedro Casterés and Juan Pedro Tapié initially on the ground floor and basement of the former British insurance company '' The Standard Life'' building, located at

y Río Negro.London París, breve viaje al consumismo (*)
article, El País Viajes, ''viajes.elpais.com.uy'' accessed 24 February 2021 Known colloquially as ''El London'',
Crónicas Migrantes, Olveira Ramos, accessed 24 February 2021 it was well known for its catalogue of products. Casterés later agreed with the Standard to expand into the upper floors of the building, and by 1915, the first annexes on Río Negro were built, which brought the square footage to more than five thousand square meters. By the 1950s, London Paris had seven floors of retail space, two basements, 1,100 employees, a fleet of delivery vans, a doctor's office, nurses and translators. It initially catered to the high end market, marketing a no questions refund policy, importing European fine product and avoiding sales or discounts, agencies or smaller branches. Towards the 1960s it was faced with excess stock of $33 million

pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar ...

and began to offer discounted events known as ''Multis''. Social unrest, inflation and government intervention contributed to worsening profits, which ultimately led to the store closing in 1966. Catalogo primavera1914

Remodeling and current use

Following the closure of the London París store, in the 1970s and 1980s ice cream parlour ''Papitos'' occupied the ground floor. In 1995, the ground floor was remodelled by architects Conrado Pinto, Alberto Valenti and Arturo Silva Montero.GUÍA ARQUITECTÓNICA Y URBANÍSTICA DE MONTEVIDEO
Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, accessed 24 February 2021 Five years later, Isaac Benito managed the restoration of the upper floors. In 2008 it was sold for a value of $700,000.El edificio de London París se vendió en US$ 700.000.
article, infonegocios.biz 19 May 2008 The building, originally designed as a residential property, now contains office space and retail outlets. A McDonald's restaurant operates from the ground floor.

Design controversy

Traditionally, design of the building was ascribed to the English architect and engineer John Adams, who also created the Verdi Room, the British Hospital and the Teatro Victoria. In 2002,

César Loustau César Juan Loustau Infantozzi, usually known as César J. Loustau (5 February 1926 – 4 February 2011) was a Uruguayan architect and architectural historian. Biography Loustau graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the University o ...

raised the possibility that construction could have been carried out by Julián Masquelez, a Uruguayan architect trained in Europe, and designer of the Quinta Mendilaharsu on ''Avenida de las Instrucciones'', current home of the ''Museo Nacional de Antropología'' (National Museum of Anthropology).

External links

London París vuelve en formato digital

Montevideo Antiguo

References

{{Centro, Montevideo Buildings and structures completed in 1908 Buildings and structures in Montevideo Centro, Montevideo Eclectic architecture Retailing in Uruguay 1908 in Uruguay Department store buildings