Güemes Gallery – Places to visit

The Galería Güemes building is considered one of the first skyscrapers in Buenos Aires with its 87 meters high. The visitor of those years was surprised by the variety of uses and functions that it housed inside.

In the basement there is a theater and an important event hall and restaurant. On the ground floor, the Güemes Gallery with commercial premises and varied gastronomy. From the first floor offices, and from the 6th level were the fully furnished apartments that were temporarily rented.

Upon reaching the 14th floor, one was in front of the confectionery that had views of the city and where the chords of an orchestra played from an internal balcony of the room. Four levels above the viewpoint, the highest point in the city for several years with a unique 360-degree view in the heart of the city.

Güemes Gallery accompanied by technical boasts such as elevators capable of traveling 140 meters in 60 seconds, fire-fighting systems that pumped up to 24 thousand liters per hour and that were activated through electrical alarms located on the ground floor and basements.

The different sectors had refrigeration, heating and forced ventilation, and the luminous board that reported on the occupation of the offices was even a gossip because it was indiscreet. A system of pneumatic tubes served as internal mail for the Güemes Gallery building.

No less impact was caused by the combination of natural and artificial lighting of the vault and the bronzework of the passage, or the bronzework details of the shop windows and elevator doors.

The theater had seats mounted on a reinforced concrete slab which, in turn, had a pivoting support capable of changing the slope of the room.

The set caused a truly futuristic impression considering that it was the year 1915. The promoters of the work were Emilio San Miguel and David Ovejero from Salta, owners of great fortune and owners of the 1830 mansion that was on the land in Florida. At first, it was thought to carry out the work only on this street, but later Banco Supervielle, owner of the lot that overlooked San Martín, joined the project.

Then, a building-passage was chosen that would connect both streets through a 116-meter gallery. Developed by the Italian architect Francisco Terencio Gianotti. Güemes Gallery is considered a masterpiece of Art Nouveau.

The construction of Güemes Gallery began in 1913, and had to face many problems, its owners went bankrupt due to the cost of the work that rose from 10 to 15 million pesos. His situation was aggravated when a German submarine sank the ship that brought the Italian marble for the facade over Florida and other expensive elements for its completion.