Casa Rosada
La Casa Rosada English: The Pink
House is the executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina. The
palatial mansion is known officially as Casa de Gobierno, "House of
Government" or "Government House".Normally, the President lives
at the Quinta de Olivos, the official residence of the President of Argentina,
which is located in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. The characteristic color of
the Casa Rosada is baby pink, and is considered one of the most emblematic
buildings in Buenos Aires. The building also houses a museum, which contains
objects relating to former presidents of Argentina. It has been declared a
National Historic Monument of The Casa Rosada sits at the eastern end of the
Plaza de Mayo, a large square which since the 1580 foundation of Buenos Aires
has been surrounded by many of the most important political institutions of the
city and of Argentina. The site, originally at the shoreline of the Río de la
Plata, was first occupied by the "Fort of Juan Baltazar of Austria",
a structure built on the orders of the founder of Buenos Aires, Captain Juan de
Garay, in 1594. Its 1713 replacement by a masonry structure the "Castle of
San Miguel" complete with turrets made the spot the effective nerve center
of colonial government. Following independence, President Bernardino Rivadavia
had a Neoclassical portico built at the entrance in 1825, and the building
remained unchanged until, in 1857, the fort was demolished in favor of a new
customs building.Under the direction of British Argentine architect Edward
Taylor, the Italianate structure functioned as Buenos Aires' largest building
from 1859 until the 1890s.Argentina.
The old fort's administrative annex,
which survived the construction of Taylor's Customs House, was enlisted as the
Presidential offices by Bartolomé Mitre in the 1860s and his successor, Domingo
Sarmiento, who beautified the drab building with patios, gardens and
wrought-iron grillwork, had the exterior painted pink reportedly in order to
defuse political tensions by mixing the red and white colours of the country's
opposing political parties: red was the color of the Federales, while white was
the color of the Unitarians. An alternative explanation suggests that the
original paint contained cow's blood to prevent damage from the effects of
humidity. Sarmiento also authorized the construction of the Central Post Office
next door in 1873, commissioning Swedish Argentine architect Carl Kihlberg, who
designed this, one of the first of Buenos Aires' many examples of Second Empire
architecture. Presiding
over an unprecedented socio-economic boom, President Julio Roca commissioned
architect Enrique Aberg to replace the cramped State House with one resembling
the neighboring Central Post Office in 1882. Following works to integrate the
two structures, Roca had architect Francesco Tamburini build the iconic
Italianate archway between the two in 1884. The resulting State House, still
known as the "Pink House", was completed in 1898 following its
eastward enlargement, works which resulted in the destruction of the Historical
Museum was created in 1957 to display presidential memorabilia and selected
belongings, such as sashes, batons, books, furniture, and three carriages. The
remains of the former fort were partially excavated in 1991, and the uncovered
structures were incorporated into the Museum of the Casa Rosada. Located behind
the building, these works led to the rerouting of Paseo Colón Avenue, unifying
the Casa Rosada with Parque Colón Columbus Park behind it. Plans were announced
in 2009 for the restoration of surviving portions of Taylor's Customs House, as
well.e customs house.
