Palacio de la Legislatura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires) - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

Monumental neo-Classicist building of Palacio de la Legislatura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Palace of the Buenos Aires City Legislature) is one of many interesting and architecturally valuable buildings in Buenos Aires downtown...

The Palacio de la Legislatura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires houses the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is an architectural landmark in the city's Montserrat district, situated in a triangular block bounded by the streets Calle Hipólito Yrigoyen, Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca and Calle Perú. Built of grey granite, it has a Neoclassical design. The building is open to the public on week-days only. The building contains the Esteban Echeverría Library, Salon Rosado (also known as the Salon Eva Perón), and a carillon which, when it was installed in 1930, was the largest in South America.

Constructed in the neo-Classical style, the building has a basement, three storeys and a penthouse. It incorporates an older residence that faced the Plaza de Mayo but now fronts the Avenida Julio A. Roca. The main door, located at the corner of Avenida Julio A. Roca and the Calle Peru, is of carved wood with a central brass knocker shaped as a lion's head. The front of the building has Corinthian style colonnades and balconies with balustrades. The former Municipal shield, made of bronze, adorns a large window. Architecturally, the building is perhaps best known for its 26 cornice caryatids (most by sculptor Troiano Troiani), the clock tower, and carillon (a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower) of 30 bells. Aside from the legislative chambers themselves, the building's interior features a number of architecturally noteworthy salons and halls, as well as two libraries; the spacious halls are named the Golden Hall, the San Martin Hall, the Montevideo Hall, the Lost Steps Hall, the Eva Perón Lounge, the Dining Room of Honor, the Aldermen Hall and the Exhibition Hall. The Esteban Echeverría Library houses a unique collection of 2,000 books from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. The other library, known as the Hemeroteca José Hernández, has numerous newspaper archives from 1870 covering topics of history, culture and general news. A staircase is situated opposite the main entrance to Avenida Julio A. Roca. It splits into two sections before reaching the main floor rotunda. Above it, a stained glass dome representing the sun can be opened manually or electronically to view the open sky. [wiki]