Below the section of the Plaza containing Mitre’s statue is a floral clock dating back to 1913 – the first of its kind in South America. Another museum of note can be found a little to the south of the Plaza – the Quinta y Museo Pueyrredon. This home belonged to General Juan Manuel de Pueyrredon, a colleague of San Martin’s in the Wars of the Independence – also a leader in the earlier repulsion of British forces in 1806-1807. For a short time, he was the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of La Plata, the nebulous arrangement that emerged from the 1816 Congress in Tucuman. He was instrumental in maintaining the fight against Spain, though also being a good porteno Unitarian, he was able to watch with glee as the Portugese march in from Brazil as they smashed the Federalist forces of Jose Artigas in Uruguay, thus eliminating the ‘barbarian democracy’ on the other side of the Rio de la Plata.
Written Dec 18, 2004
Address: 48 Calle Rivera Indarte – Pueyrredon Country Home
Phone: 4512-3131
In front of the cathedral on its north side, is a leafy park in which the statue of President Bartolome Mitre takes center stage. The Municipal Museum is across from the Plaza on the west side with exhibits from San Isidro’s past. Several old mansions – the Villa Ocampo just north of the square and the Quinta Los Ombues to the south – hearken back to a time when San Isidro was the getaway home for the elite of BsAs.
Written Dec 18, 2004
Neo-gothic style lends itself well to dramatic towers and San Isidro’s cathedral doesn’t disappoint in the least. The tower soars to 70 m/230 ft containing a clock and belfry. You can find other churches in the BsAs area with neo-gothic style – the La Plata cathedral and Santuario de Lourdes de Santos Lugares being but two examples.
Written Dec 18, 2004
Address: 199 Libertador General San Martin
Phone: 4743-0291
This beautiful neo-gothic church replaced an original church that had lasted from 1708 until 1895. Completed in 1898, the church was consecrated as a cathedral in 1957. Inside, there is room for 3000 worshippers and also a relic, donated by Spain’s king Alfonso XIII, in 1928, purported to be bone of St Isidro.
Written Dec 18, 2004
Address: 199 Libertador General San Martin
Phone: 4743-0291
This line originated in 1891 and ran from BsAS to Tigre. Part of the line running between Olivos and Tigre was reestablished in 1995. You can access the line from the Retiro Station by transferring at Olivos from the normal train lines and then walking over the viaduct to this light rail line. The line was built by the owners of the big amusement park in Tigre, Parque de la Costa –also owners of the huge casino next door. There are 11 stops en route and most have tried to recycle the old look of the original stations with an 1890’s look. The line whips past many very upscale neighborhoods and offers the occasional view out over the Rio de la Plata and BsAs beyond. The train station in San Isidro contains a small trendy shopping mall that you walk through as you head to the cathedral on the hill behind.
Written Dec 18, 2004
With the end of the school term, all of the tests and papers have been returned. No need to save them becasue we are graduating!! School's out forever!! in the words of the immortal Alice Cooper.
Written Dec 18, 2004
Graduation here in San Isidro is like anywhere else - a time of jubilation. What is to come is to come. What is important is what is done is done! Time to celebrate.
The school to the east of the Cathedral is the Colegio San Juan el Precursor which is housed in a building that belonged to one of the richest families in all Argentina - the Anchorena family. Built originally in 1840, the homne was extensively remodelled in the 1920's.
Written Dec 18, 2004
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