The Obelisk know by the local as the “Obelisco” in spanish is the greatest emblem of the city and its inhabitants, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Statue of Liberty in New York. Inaugurated in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first founding of Buenos Aires, it is the work of the architect Alberto Prebisch, one of the main exponents of Argentine modernism and also the author of the neighboring Teatro Gran Rex. It is located in the place where the national flag was raised for the first time in the city. Whoever visits Buenos Aires cannot stop photographing this monument, strategically located at the intersection of two of the most important avenues: 9 de Julio, among the widest in the world, and “calle” Corrientes, one of the main cultural centers. from the city.
The Obelisk is also the axis of the Metrobus, a bus transport system that crosses the Microcentro on Avenida 9 de Julio, inaugurated in 2013. With a total height of 67.5 meters and a base of 6.8 meters on the other hand, the Obelisk has a single entrance door (looking west towards Corrientes Avenue), behind which there is a marine staircase of 206 steps with 7 landings that leads to the top. There is a viewpoint with four windows, visible from the street. And above it, the emblematic monument of Buenos Aires culminates in a lightning rod that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Entry is currently prohibited.
The Obelisk of Buenos Aires: Did you know?
Did you know that the Obelisk was very resisted during its early years? In fact, three years after its inauguration, the Deliberative Council sanctioned its demolition, a decision that was vetoed by the then mayor. Today, on the other hand, it is one of the main meeting points for political demonstrations and the celebration of sporting achievements. To celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2011, a guided tour was organized for 75 residents, one for each year of the Obelisk’s life.
The Obelisk of Buenos Aires: General Facts & Infographic
Its height is 67.5 m, and of these 63.5 m are up to the beginning of the apex, which is 3.5 m by 3.5 m. The base has a side of 6.80 m. It has a single entrance door (on the west side) and at its top there are four windows, with metal shutters, which can only be reached by a marine staircase of 206 steps with 7 landings every 8 m and one at 6 m.
The point is blunt; It measures 40 cm and culminates in a lightning rod that cannot be seen due to its height, whose cables run through the interior of the monument. There is a built-in iron box that is said to hold a photo of the construction engineer, and a letter intended for those who demolish it.
The Obelisk of Buenos Aires: history, architecture and location
The Obelisk, a hollow reinforced concrete construction almost 68 meters high, stands in the Plaza de la República. The project of this monument was in charge of the architect Alberto Prebisch and it was inaugurated in 1936 in commemoration of the IV centenary of the first Spanish settlement in the RÃo de la Plata. On the ground of the square the shields of the Argentine provinces stand out. The San Nicolás de Bari church once stood on this site, on whose tower the Argentine flag was raised for the first time in 1812.
On the site where the Obelisk is now located, the church dedicated to San Nicolás de Bari was located, which it was decided to demolish for the construction of Avenida 9 de Julio. In the tower of that church the Argentine flag was officially hoisted for the first time in Buenos Aires, in 1812. This circumstance is remembered in one of the inscriptions on the north side of the Obelisk.
It was said that the radical block of the chambers would present a project for the monument to Hipólito Yrigoyen to be erected in that place. But, on February 3, 1936, 400 years after the so-called “first founding of Buenos Aires,” the mayor Mariano de Vedia y Miter, appointed in the presidency of AgustÃn Pedro Justo, signed a decree that would generate bitter controversies, for the execution of a work of an extraordinary nature, which indicates to the people of the Republic the true importance of that anniversary. That there is no monument in the city that symbolizes the homage of the entire Nation’s Capital. The architect Alberto Prebisch was then commissioned to build an obelisk that was completed in just sixty days: the work began on March 20 1936 and was inaugurated on May 23 of that year.
The construction was carried out by the German consortium GEOPÉ – Siemens Bauunion – Grün & Bilfinger, which completed the work in the record time of 31 days, for which it employed 157 workers. Maximizing the use of time, it was used rapidly hardening INC cement and the monument was built in sections of 2 meters to facilitate the pouring of the concrete. For its construction, which cost 200,000 pesos in national currency, 680 m³ of cement and 1,360 m² of white stone from Pampa de Olaen, province of Córdoba, were used.
On February 20, 1938, Roberto M. Ortiz succeeded AgustÃn Pedro Justo, and appointed Arturo Goyeneche as the new mayor of the city. On the night of June 20-21, 1938, the day after a public ceremony was held in the place with the presence of President Ortiz, some landslides of the stone cladding occurred that destroyed the stands where the previous day the flag bearers of primary and secondary schools in the city during the event.2 To end the danger that new stone plates could fall, they were replaced by cement plaster in which the drawing of the slabs was imitated, which was painted with 620 liters of latex.4 When the slabs were removed, it was not taken into account that a legend was removed that said “Alberto Prebisch was its architect.”
Immediately after its construction, the obelisk became the center of mockery and protests from the porteños. Three years after its inauguration, in June 1939, the Deliberative Council sanctioned the demolition of the Obelisk by Ordinance No. 10,251, by 23 votes to three, citing economic, aesthetic and public safety reasons. But the ordinance was vetoed by Mayor Goyeneche, and other attempts to overthrow him were unsuccessful.
Its structure, based on rationalist aesthetics, generated more than one controversy between those in favor of the renewal of the city and the more traditionalist sectors. It is currently considered an icon of the city. The Obelisk has been frequently used as a meeting point for various demonstrations, which also include avenues 9 de Julio and Corrientes that surround it, a fact similar to that which occurs in Plaza de Mayo.
In 1998, Greenpeace activists violated the access and displayed from the top a sign reading “Save the climate” In 1987 it was surrounded with a fence to prevent the inscriptions on its walls.
Where is the “Obelisco” of Buenos Aires located?
The Obelisco of Buenos Aires is located in the Plaza de la República, at the intersection of Corrientes and 9 de Julio avenues, in the San Nicolás neighborhood in Buenos Aires. The iconic monument, is part of the most important and representative images of the city.
