Buenos Aires, Argentina - Diagonal Pte & Obelisk - postcard, stamps 1923

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Diagonal Pte. Roque Saenz y obelisco, Buenos Aires [Argentina]
• Publisher: 'RA'
• Postally used: yes
• Stamp:  Argentina Antarctic commems. (see scan)
• Postmark(s): Buenos Aires 1923 cds
• Sent to:  New Orleans, USA
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

The Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires. Located in the Plaza de la República in the intersection of avenues Corrientes and 9 de Julio, it was erected in 1936 to commemorate the quadricentennial of the first foundation of the city.

Construction began on March 20, 1936, and it was finished on May 23 of the same year. It was designed by architect Alberto Prebisch (one of the main architects of the Argentine modernism who also designed the Teatro Gran Rex, in Corrientes and Suipacha) at the request of the mayor Mariano de Vedia y Mitre (appointed by president Agustín Pedro Justo). For its construction, which cost 200,000 pesos moneda nacional, 680 cubic meters (24,000 cu ft) of concrete and 1,360 square meters (14,600 sq ft) of Olaen white stone from Córdoba were used.

The obelisk was built by the German company G.E.O.P.E. - Siemens Bauunion - Grün & Bilfinger, which completed its work in a record time of 31 days, with 157 workers. The rapid hardening Incor cement was used and was built in sections of 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) to facilitate the dumping of concrete.

Its height is 67.5 m, and 63 m of these are up to the initiation of the apex, which is 3.5 by 3.5 meters (11 by 11 ft). The tip is blunt, measuring 40 centimeters (16 in) and ends in a lightning rod that can not be seen because of the height, whose cables run through the interior of the obelisk.

It has only one entrance (in its west side) and on its top there are four windows, that can only be reached by a straight staircase of 206 steps with 7 breaks every 6–8 meters (20–26 ft).

On February 20, 1938, Roberto María Ortiz succeeded Justo and appointed Arturo Goyenche as the new mayor of the city. In June 1939 the City Council sanctioned the demolition of the Obelisco, citing economic, aesthetic and public safety reasons. However, the ordinance was vetoed by the municipal executive power, characterizing it as an act lacking of value and juridical content, because it alters the state of things emanated by the executive power, and that it was a monument under the jurisdiction and custody of the Nation whose heritage belongs to it.

Where the Obelisco stands, a church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari was previously demolished. In that church the Argentine flag was officially hoisted for the first time in Buenos Aires, 1812. That fact is noted in one of the inscriptions on the north side of the monument.

As a result of some detachments of stone cladding, which occurred on the night of June 20–21, 1938, the day after a public event with the presence of president Ortiz took place there, it was decided to remove such cladding in 1943 and was replaced by another one made of polished cement, making cracks to simulate the joints of the stones. When the slabs were removed, a legend that said "Its architect was Alberto Prebisch" was also removed.