Tag: buildings

What a difference a century makes

In 1965, the population of Uruguay was 2.68 million (current 3.36 million).

Wikipedia: The Executive Tower (Spanish: Torre Ejecutiva) is the official workplace of the President of Uruguay. It is located in front of the Plaza Independencia, in Barrio Centro, Montevideo.

History

The original project was started in 1965 as a future Palace of Justice, but the 1973 coup d’état interrupted it.[1] By the time the military government ended in 1985, the building was too small for the Uruguayan justice system, so the project remained halted for decades until in March 2006, President Tabaré Vázquez decided to finish the building and use it as an extension of the Estévez Palace.[2] The President’s offices were transferred there from the Liberty Building in September 2009.

In 1873, the population of Uruguay was around 0.4 million.

Wikipedia: The Estévez Palace (Spanish: Palacio Estévez) is a building situated in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo, Uruguay, designed in a combination of Doric and Colonial styles by Manoel de Castel in 1873. It has served as the working place of the President of Uruguay and has been eventually converted to a museum, housing artifacts and mementos of the Uruguayan presidency and its office holders.

The Palacio Estévez is the little gem to the left in the photo above. Ah, the good old days.

Some Atlántida architecture and history

It was a beautiful day Monday for taking pictures.

Atlántida started in 1911 as a summer playground for wealthy Montevideans, and the architecture reflects that.

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Along the Rambla La Mansa:

House in Atlántida, Uruguay

House in Atlántida, Uruguay House in Atlántida, Uruguay

There are a number of whimsical houses, including this one that I’ve never seen occupied on the Rambla La Brava:

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House in Atlántida, Uruguay

And then there’s Edificio El Planeta.

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First, a quick Spanish lesson: el planeta means the planet, and it seems like it should be la planeta. There a few Spanish words that don’t play well with rules.

Built in the 1930s in just one year (did Uruguayans once work fast?), it served as Planeta Palace Hotel until 1954. It looks like a ship preparing to steam out to sea, and was very fancy in its day, with private baths, hot water, and heating (heating? In Uruguay?). After the hotel’s closure, it was divided and sold as  propiedad horizontal (i.e., condos). It was declared a national historical monument in 2005.

El Planeta, Atlántida, Uruguay