Street in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cordoba Avenue
Location of Cordoba Avenue in
Buenos Aires
.
Cordoba Avenue
is one of the principal thoroughfares in
Buenos Aires
,
Argentina
.
History
[
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]
Mayor
Torcuato de Alvear
, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in
Paris
at the hand of
Baron Haussmann
, drew up master plans for major boulevards, running east to west, every six blocks. During the 1880s, Cordoba Avenue was included in the plan and widened. The
Buenos Aires Metro
authority at the time, operated by the Spanish-Argentine concern
CHADOPyF
, built
Line
largely under Cordoba Avenue during the 1930s. Following the popularization of the automobile in Argentina during the 1960s, a 1967 ordinance made the avenue a one-way thoroughfare, east to west (making Cordoba Avenue one of the major routes used by the city's evening commuters).
[1]
Overview
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]
The avenue's outset at
Eduardo Madero
Avenue is the continuation of Cecilia Grierson Street in
Puerto Madero
. Past this point, Cordoba Av. enters downtown Buenos Aires and passes along the northern end of the
financial district
.
Microsoft
's Latin American headquarters, opened in 2000, and the 42-story Alas building are located on this corner; the Alas building, built in the early 1950s by the administration of
Juan Peron
for the
Argentine Air Force
, was the tallest in Argentina until 1995. Past
Leandro Alem Avenue
(the city's original shoreline), the avenue climbs around 15 m (50 ft) in a block-long segment known as "
el bajo
" - an incline where the riverfront once was. The Lancaster Hotel, located at the top of the incline, is where writer
Graham Greene
stayed in Buenos Aires while writing his celebrated mystery,
The Honorary Consul
.
[2]
The avenue along the Galerias Pacifico shopping centre
The avenue crosses pedestrianized
Florida Street
a few blocks on. The southeast corner of this intersection is known for the
Galerias Pacifico
shopping arcade, housed in ornate structure occupying a city block and built in 1889 as the Buenos Aires affiliate of Paris' renowned
Bon Marche
. The eclectic
Beaux-Arts
structure is complemented by the Naval Officers' Association building, on the intersection's northeast corner; adjacent to the latter building is
Harrods Buenos Aires
, currently undergoing renovations.
[3]
Writer
Jorge Luis Borges
frequented the Cafe St. James nearby (at Cordoba and Maipu), where he held his lectures on
English literature
during the 1950s and 1960s. One block west is the eclecticist Bencich Building, known for its tapered red cupola. Buenos Aires'
Nueve de Julio Avenue
(one of the world's widest) was extended northwards past Cordoba Avenue in the 1950s, and the intersection of the two avenues was graced by the placement of two fountains originally located at the
Plaza de Mayo
. Italian automaker
FIAT
opened the Mirafiori Tower, its Argentine headquarters, at this intersection in 1964.
[1]
[2]
Its intersection with Libertad Street (one block past Nueve de Julio) is distinguished by
Plaza Lavalle
, the
Cervantes Theatre
and the
Libertad Street Temple
, the most important
synagogue
in Buenos Aires (home to the largest
Jewish community
in Latin America). Further west, the avenue passes by the
Palacio de Aguas Corrientes
, an ornate water pumping station completed in 1894; the effect of rainfall on the building's
porcelain
tile exterior is an attraction to many, in itself. The
Neo-classical
Saenz Pena Teachers' School is across the avenue. Cordoba Avenue is home to a concentration of
University of Buenos Aires
schools, as well. The
Faculty of Medicine
and its
Hospital de Clinicas
are across the avenue from the
Faculty of Economics
, and all are a block east of the
Neo-gothic
National Music Conservatory
. Entering the historic Jewish district of Buenos Aires, the avenue's intersection with Pasteur Street lies one block north of the
Jewish Argentine Mutual Association
, whose original building was destroyed in an as-yet-unsolved 1994 terrorist attack (the worst ever in Argentine history).
[2]
[4]
The 8 km (5 mi) avenue demarcates a number of Buenos Aires' boroughs. At its outset, it separates
Retiro
to the north from
San Nicolas
and, further west, from
Balvanera
. It then separates Balvanera from
Recoleta
, to the north and, further west,
Palermo
from
Almagro
and
Villa Crespo
(both to Palermo's south). Entering Villa Crespo, the avenue passes under Reconquista Bridge, an overpass opened in 1969 to facilitate traffic along
Juan B. Justo Avenue
. Cordoba Avenue's Villa Crespo section is known for its many apparel and footwear stores.
[5]
The avenue ends as such at
Federico Lacroze Avenue
, though geographically it continues as Giribone Street for another eight blocks, extending well into the
Chacarita
borough.
Avenida Cordoba
References
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Public and
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Shopping and
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34°35′53″S
58°24′27″W
/
34.59806°S 58.40750°W
/
-34.59806; -58.40750