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Buenos Aires

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Monumental Tower

The Monumental Tower, or more known by the inhabitants of the city as Torre de Los Ingleses, is located in the Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina (previously called Plaza Britannica). This monument was built by the English community to commemorate the centenary of the May Revolution and was inaugurated on May 24, 1916, by the Argentine President Victorino de la Plaza and the British diplomat Reginald Tower (coincidentally his last name was Tower).

If we look at the tower we can find the thistle flower that represents Scotland, the red dragon of Wales, the rose of the House of Tudor and the clover of Ireland. The carillon that marks the quarters of time imitates the one of the abbey of Westminster, Anglican gothic church that is in London and is a traditional place for the British monarchy. If we look closely at the door we can find the shields of Argentina and Great Britain and a phrase that says 'To the great Argentine people, the British residents, health May 25, 1810-1910'.

Why is it known as Torre de Los Ingleses? Its founding name was Torre de Los Ingleses, but after the war in the South Atlantic, a contest in which Argentina faced Great Britain in 1982 for the possession of the Malvinas Islands, the name was changed to Torre Monumental. The same thing happened with the plaza, which was called Plaza Británica, but it was renamed Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina.

The tower is 60 meters high and has 8 floors, on the 6th floor there is a viewpoint, from which you can have a panoramic view of the Retiro neighborhood. The materials for its construction were brought from Europe, only Argentina has sand and water since even the workers who worked were also English. Until 1982 the clock kept the original pieces, but during the Malvinas War there were riots in the square and some of the protesters damaged the pieces.

Buenos Aires


Tips

In 1940 the residence of President Roberto Ortiz was located a few meters from the tower, in that period the president was very sick and at night the clock bells bothered him, that is why the family asked the caretakers to stop him (It's worth saying that the only way to stop it was by hand). The caregivers were father and son who lived in Floresta (a bit far from the tower), consequently, they took turns to do that work, the son took the night tram to go to stop the clock and the father traveled in the morning to put it back working.


Pratical Information

Price

Free admission, previous registration via mail.

Transport

Av. Del Libertador 49