El Obelisco, Buenos Aires

Two blocks away from Galerias Pacifico on Calle Florida is the pedestrian street called Lavalle, which leaded us to the Avenida 9 de Julio. This is most probably Bs As widest road with 16 lanes on some places. They even claim the 9 de Julio to be the widest in the world. Actually it is 3 streets: 9 de Julio in the middle, Pelligrino on one side and Cerrito on the other.

On the intersection with Avenida Corrientes is the Plaza de la Republica. In the middle of this square stands the Oblisco with a height of 67 metres. This remarkable monument is built of white stone from Cordoba and was inaugurated in 1936, due to the 400th anniversary of the first foundation of Bs As by Spanish settlers.

Today the Obelisco is one of the main landmarks of the city and is compared with the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Washington Monument.
The monument is also a meeting point in the city, used for political manifestations and victory celebrations of Argentine sport teams.

The Obelisco has four windows on the peak and inside is a staircase, but I couldn't find any information about visiting the building.

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Located in the Plaza de la Republica, the Obelisk is the garthering point for Buenos Aires when it comes to celebration. You really can't avoid it when visiting Buenos Aires. It apparently was built in the style of the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, USA. It was built in just 31 days in the year 1936, and supposedly was the first place that the Argentina flag was raised. Around the Obelisk there are crests of the districts of Argentina. There is an inscription on the base as well as some explanations in Spanish.

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We passed by the Obelisco almost every day to and from various points in the city, it's a monument that is easily seen from many vantage points and helps in orientation.

It was inaugurated in 1936 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the (unsuccessful) founding of the city by Pedro de Mendoza, the city was refounded in 1580. It stands 67 meters tall, tiny in comparison with the tallest obelisk in the world, the Washington Monument which stands at 169 meters. Although it appears that there is viewing from the top from a window, the guidebook says the stairs inside are only for maintenance, if you want a good view of BsAs, try the British Clock Tower or Palacio Barolo. The area around the Obelisco is a popular place for political demonstrations, musical performances and victory celebrations for the national football teams, in fact we saw something of this nature on Friday night as we were heading to a tango show.

We were lucky enough to have a hotel which overlooked the Obelisk and surprisingly there is more action that goes on here than one would think. Aside from the political protests, a tourist promotion with people dressed in tradtional costumes and the hectic traffic. An unusual aspect was a number of couples "getting it on" in the middle of the street late at night. I am not sure whether this is some sort of urban myth or dare to see whether they get caught , I am not sure maybe other VTers can shed some light on this, but it is certainly a "surprise" when one opens the curtains to look down on the obelisk late at night.

This is one of the "symbols" of Buenos Aires. Decades ago, the city council voted to tear it down not long after it was built. Evidently, they never followed through, because it's still there. In this picture, you can't see it that well because it's several blocks away- this is looking down Sáenz Peña from Plaza de Mayo.

It was raised in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Bs As first foundation. 3 years later the city council decided to tear it down but as we see it's still here, luckily.
El Obelisco made of the reinforced concrete is 70 meters high and is situated in the middle of huge Avenida 9 de Julio.

Located almost exactly mid-way along Av. 9 de Julio, this trademark Obelisk of Buenos Aires was erected in 1936 to commemorate 400 years from the first founding of a settlement here by Spanish explorers. It's location in the city also marks the site where the Argentine flag was raised for the first time.

The Obelisk is situated on a large 'island' in the middle of the Avenue and is not open for public visitors, even though it has an internal stairway of 206 steps that lead to it's apex, where four small windows are located.

Standing 67-m (220-ft) high, this Obelisk is tied for the second highest in the world with the Bunker Hill monument in Boston. The world's tallest Obelisk is the 169-m (550-ft) Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

However, technically speaking, since they are not made out of a single large cut stone, none of the above are 'true' obelisks. The largest of this category are about 30-m tall and were created by the Egyptians thousands of years ago.

The Obelisco is like someone else said, "you can't miss it". I must have gone by in either a taxi, car or on foot, almost every day I was in Buenos Aires. Located on the worlds widest Avenue, 9 de Julio it is the centerpiece on this street.

Not as impressive as the Washington monument, but similar and made of concrete instead of granite, it was built in 1936 to mark the first place that the Argentine flag was raised.

Because it is made of concrete some definate signs of wear and tear are apparent. Especially in areas where they tried to patch it up with a newer layer of concrete, which is very apparent since the texture and the color do not match when you are up close.