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Posted on 17/03/2022 By God
Galería Güemes - Places to visit
The Galería Güemes building is considered to be one of the first skyscrapers of Buenos Aires with its 87 metres in height. Visitors in those years were surprised by the variety of uses and functions it housed inside.
In the basement there is a theatre and an important events hall and restaurant. On the ground floor the Güemes Gallery with commercial premises and varied gastronomy. From the first floor upwards there were offices, and from the 6th floor upwards there were fully furnished flats that were rented out on a temporary basis.
On reaching the 14th floor, one found oneself in front of the café with a view of the city and the sound of an orchestra playing from a balcony inside the lounge. Four levels up was the observation deck, the highest point in the city for several years with a unique 360-degree view of the city centre.
Galería Güemes was accompanied by technical feats such as lifts capable of travelling 140 metres in 60 seconds, fire-fighting systems that pumped up to 24,000 litres per hour and were activated by electrical alarms located on the ground floor and in the basement.
The different areas were cooled, heated and ventilated, and even the illuminated board informing about the occupancy of the offices was a commonplace and indiscreet sight. A system of pneumatic tubes served as the internal mail system of the Galería Güemes building.
No less impressive was the combination of natural and artificial lighting in the vault and the bronzework of the passageway, or the bronzework details of the shop windows and lift doors.
The theatre had seats mounted on a reinforced concrete slab which, in turn, had a pivoting support capable of changing the slope of the hall.
The complex made a truly futuristic impression considering that the year was 1915. The promoters of the project were Emilio San Miguel and David Ovejero from Salta, owners of great fortune and owners of the 1830's mansion on Florida. At first it was thought that the work would only be carried out on this street, but then Banco Supervielle, owner of the lot facing San Martin, joined the project.
It was therefore decided to build a building-passage connecting the two streets by means of a 116-metre long gallery. Developed by the Italian architect Francisco Terencio Gianotti. Galería Güemes is considered a masterpiece of Art Noveau.
The construction of Galería Güemes began in 1913, and it had to face many problems, its owners were bankrupted by the cost of the work that rose from 10 to 15 million pesos. Its situation was aggravated when a German submarine sank the ship that was bringing the Italian marble for the façade on Florida and other expensive elements for its completion.