| |
| |
Bahia Blanca is situated in a place of uncomparable beauty, where a cosmopolitan community settled to start a better life in the Argentine Republic. Important investments were made and buildings, monuments and recreation centers were built and and are now kept as relics of the bahiense people. |
|
| |
The Historic Center is formed by the Main Square and the surrounding streets.
The Square with its big old trees is surrounded by a series of public buildings dating from the end of the XIX century and the decade of the thirties in the XX century. |
|
| |
  |
The main square, Bernardino Rivadavia, is built in a French style with bilateral symmetry, a monument to the ex president Rivadavia, and four monuments donated by foreign entities.
During different periods, this square has been used for different purposes. It was once a corral for animals, and then a promenade enclosed with iron gates.
In the square there is a monument to the Israelite community done by the Argentine sculptor Israel Hoffman, constructed in three faces with bronze plaques on them symbolizing agriculture, industry and science.
There is also a beautiful fountain, Fuente de los Ingleses, which represents the four elements of progress: navigation and the railway, contributed by immigrants, and agriculture and cattle raising contributed by the Argentine people. The fountain is framed by four pillars, and in the center there is a boy throwing out a water spurt. |
|
| |
Opposite Plaza Rivadavia is the Town Hall, built in a borbonic style. The 42 m. high tower stands out and form an important axe with the access stairs.
Next to Town Hall is the old Banco Provincia de Buenos Aires, a building with some Ionic details and ornamented windows, where some municipal departments work at present. |
 |
|
| |
 |
The Cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Merced also stands out in this Historical Center. Its facade is composed by a central body and two lateral ones with towers. A double row of paralel columns support some heavy entablatures. |
|
| |
The German Bank is also opposite the main square in the intersection of the streets Sarmiento and Estomba. In it you will observe the academic tendencies of the time, such as the hierarchization of the main entrance, the facade intercalating vertical bodies to bestow a slower rythm. The building lines are extremely simple. When it was inaugurated, rolling courtains were a complete innovation. |
|
| |
The National Bank is another mythical building, emplaced in the intersection of Estomba and Moreno streets, the first building with a metallic structure in the city.
In the exterior you will recognize the academic canones, with the classical basement divided in three parts, development and crown. In the interior you will see four sculptures representing four powerful male figures supporting the heavy entablature. It also has a big door covering the height of the two main floors with its panels and an old watch. |
 |
|
| |
 |
In Estomba street you will find the beautiful Palacio de Tribunales, the highest building in town at the time when it was built, with a height of 33 meters and five stories.
In this building you will find some decoration details such as simple cornices and some gigantic Ionic columns which comfer a strong ascending movement to the building. |
|
| |
Visiting the center of the city will help you understand the idiosincrasy of its inhabitants, their life style, uses and habits, and in a way you will be welcomed to Patagonia. |
|
|
|
Marcelo Sola 
Gustavo Lobos 
