In Buenos Aires’ oldest neighborhood, Monserrat, with building mostly being more than a hundred years old, you do not only find the utterly important public edifices as the Casa Rosada seating the Argentine government and president, the Libertador Building housing the Ministry of Defense, and the famous avenue Avenida de Mayo connecting the Plaza the Mayo with the Congressional Plaza. You also find the less visited Buenos Aires City Legislature, an impressive building made of grey granite in Neoclassical design where the Government of the City of Buenos Aires holds office.
Being an office, it is not a tourist magnet.Nevertheless it is well worth a visit.
Eva Perón special room
The Legislatura Porteña is housed in the architectural landmark called Palacio de la Legislature de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Inaugurated in 1931, it contains an absolutely gorgeous public library called Biblioteca Esteban Echeverría with books from the seventeenth century. It has various noteworthy decorated halls and salons – among them the Golden Hall inspired by the Palace of Versailles in France. First Lady Eva Perón made the Salon Rosado into a place for only governmental women to enter and discuss issues, whilst men were excluded, all this after women in Argentina got rights to vote in 1947. The buildings exterior walls is decorated with 26 great sculpted figures, and the front door is made of carved wood with a lion head brass knocker. At the very top, there is a 97 meter bell tower with the musician instrument carillon containing 30 bells.
The City Legislature Palace is designed by the Argentine architect Héctor Ayerza who was heavily inspired by French Neoclassical architecture. The building was declared a National Historic Monument by the president Juan Perón in 1951.
To visit the building you can either book a guided tour:
https://www.legislatura.gov.ar/visitas.php
– Or attend one of the various talks or mesas in the historic building. The library is public and open.
Address: PERU 130
-Hilda-