La Plata City Hall
La Plata City Hallis the executive seat of government of the city ofLa Plata,the capital ofBuenos Aires Province,Argentina.
Overview
[edit]GovernorDardo Rocha's proposal for the establishment of a new capital for the paramount Province of Buenos Aires, useful to the mollification of the province's Independence-leaning gentry, was quickly approved by theArgentine Congressfollowing the 1880Federalization of Buenos Aires.Overseeing a furor of construction, Rocha inaugurated the city of La Plata on November 19, 1882, creating the first planned city in South America, and its first with electric lighting.[1]
Planned byPedro Benoit,La Plata's diagonal streets would be anchored by a central plaza, named in honor ofPrimera JuntastatesmanMariano Moreno.Moreno Plaza is overlooked from the south by theNeogothic Cathedral,designed by Benoit and Ernesto Meyer, and from the north by City Hall, designed by Meyer andGerman architectHubert Stier(who created theHannoverandBremen Railway terminals,among other important works).[2]
Construction on the project began in June 1883, and was completed in 1888. The 14,400 m2(155,000 ft2) building, an eclecticist design based on GermanRenaissance Revival architecture,featuresRomanesqueinteriors, including two courtyards, City Council chambers, and theSalón Dorado( "Gold Room" ), a formal reception hall accessed via a grand, marble staircase, set inSlovenianoak floors, and featuring Germanvitreaux,and a 1.2 ton spiderchandelier.[2]
References
[edit]- ^Municipalidád de La Plata(in Spanish)Archived2009-03-10 at theWayback Machine
- ^abCity of La Plata: Architecture(in Spanish)Archived2010-02-27 at theWayback Machine