Chacabuco Park
Chacabuco Park is a public park in the Parque Chacabuco section of Buenos Aires.
Overview
Situated over 3 mi (5 km) west of colonial Buenos Aires, land belonging to Jesuits was expropriated following their 1767 Papal suppression. The extensive plot was sold to a gunpowder maker in 1781, remaining in that use until the municipality purchased it in 1898.[1] A May 15, 1903, city ordinance provided for the demolition of what had become a gunpowder dump, and outlined a future, 20 hectare (50 acre) park at the site. The facility itself was planned by the City Parks Commissioner, the noted French Argentine urbanist Charles Thays, and was opened in 1909. Named in honor of the pivotal 1817 Battle of Chacabuco, it originally featured ornate entry gates, three football fields, as well as selected business installations, such as a dairy, bookstore and tree nursery.[2]
A number of athletic grounds were installed at the park in 1911, including a running track, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a bocce court. A school for special education was installed around 1920 and is still operated there, as are two primary schools and a physical education facility. One of the special education school's noted instructors was the ill-fated poet, Alfonsina Storni.[2]
The park became well known for its floral variety and selection of decorative sculptures, as well. A rose garden featuring over 3,000 varietals was maintained alongside the nursery, and after 1930, numerous memorial and naturalist sculptures were installed, including monuments to José de San Martín, Domingo Sarmiento and Frédéric Chopin, as well as naturalist works evoking the ceremonial Inca maidens (the Ñusta), a jaguar, and others.[3] The park was further complemented by the 1941 opening of the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.[4]
The planned construction of a network of intra-city freeways by the last dictatorship's Mayor, Osvaldo Cacciatore, led to the 1978 destruction of a wide, diagonal swath through the park.[1] The damage to the park (the area's principal green space) was only partially remedied by the 1981 opening of a sports complex and the 1984 construction of a cultural center under the freeway, itself.[4] Works initiated in January 2008 on new freeway on-ramps and off-ramps met with steadfast opposition from neighborhood groups, and their construction was suspended pending review.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Clarín
- ^ a b Nuevo Ciclo: Historia del Parque Chacabuco (in Spanish) Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hola Parque Chacabuco: esculturas (in Spanish)
- ^ a b Parque Chacabuco (in Spanish) Archived June 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
34°38′04″S 58°26′36″W / 34.63444°S 58.44333°W / -34.63444; -58.44333
- v
- t
- e
historic buildings
and structures
- Cabildo
- Casa Rosada
- Chacarita Cemetery
- City Hall
- City Legislature
- Confitería del Molino
- Congress Palace
- Customs House
- CCK
- Duhau Palace
- Estrugamou Building
- Floralis Genérica
- Galerías Pacífico
- Immigrants' Hotel
- Kavanagh Building
- Libertador Building
- May Pyramid
- Metropolitan Cathedral
- Ministry of Public Works Building
- Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi
- Obelisco
- Palacio de Aguas Corrientes
- Palacio Barolo
- Palacio Haedo
- Pizzurno Palace
- Plaza Hotel
- Recoleta Cemetery
- San Martín Palace
- Santo Domingo convent
- Sarmiento Frigate
- Torre Monumental
- Uruguay Corvette
- Women's Bridge
neighbourhoods
- Avellaneda Park
- Botanical Gardens
- Buenos Aires Eco-Park
- Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve
- Chacabuco Park
- Ciudad Universitaria
- Congressional Plaza
- Japanese Gardens
- Lezama Park
- Palermo Gardens
- Parque Centenario
- Parque de la Memoria
- Plaza Canadá
- Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina
- Plaza de la República
- Plaza de Mayo
- Plaza Intendente Alvear
- Plaza San Martín
Institutions
- Ateneo Bookshop
- Argentine Automobile Club
- Café Tortoni
- Cine Cosmos
- Foreign Debt Museum
- Fortabat Art Collection
- House of Culture
- Illuminated Block
- Isaac Fernández Blanco Museum
- King Fahd Cultural Center
- Latin American Art Museum
- Modern Art Museum
- Natural Sciences Museum
- National Library
- National Museum of Decorative Arts
- National Museum of Fine Arts
- National Museum of History
- Opera House
- Paz Palace
- Planetarium
- Recoleta Cultural Center
- Rojas Cultural Center
- San Martín Cultural Center
- San Martín National Institute
- Sarmiento Museum
- Eduardo Sívori Museum
- Fundacion Proa
- Argentinos Juniors Stadium
- Boca Juniors Stadium
- CeNARD
- Ferro C. Oeste Stadium
- GEBA Stadium
- Hippodrome of Palermo
- Huracán Stadium
- Lawn Tennis Club
- Luna Park Arena
- Malvinas Argentinas Arena
- Mary Terán de Weiss Tennis Stadium
- Nueva Chicago Stadium
- Obras Sanitarias Arena
- Polo Stadium
- Race Circuit
- River Plate Stadium
- San Lorenzo Stadium
- José Amalfitani Stadium
entertainment
and avenues
- Avenida 9 de Julio
- Avenida Alvear
- Avenida de Mayo
- Avenida del Libertador
- Belgrano Avenue
- Callao Avenue
- Caminito
- Córdoba Avenue
- Coronel Díaz Street
- Corrientes Avenue
- Figueroa Alcorta Avenue
- Florida Street
- General Paz Avenue
- President Julio Argentino Roca Avenue
- Leandro Alem Avenue
- Pueyrredón Avenue
- President Roque Sáenz Peña Avenue
- Rivadavia Avenue
- Santa Fe Avenue
- Sarmiento Avenue
- Scalabrini Ortiz Avenue