NEIGHBORHOODS > SAN TELMO

San Telmo

The Parish of San Pedro Gonzales Telmo was established in 1806, making it one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. An area in which the traditional patrician families of Buenos Aires originally settled, it is also known for the Alto de las Carretas, a carriage rest-stop on Defensa Street set-up at the end of the 18^th century, and where Buenos Aires residents declared their independence from Spain in 1810. When the yellow fever epidemic hit in 1871, the residents began moving north seeking higher grounds, and opted to rent their abandoned homes to European immigrants who began to arrive in large number, searching for the “American Dream”. The majestic colonial houses where quickly converted into conventillos, precarious, crammed, multi-family tenements, with only one shared service area.

For the best part of the 20^th century the area slipped into decay, until in 1970, thanks to the initiative of the architect José María Peña – founder of the Buenos Aires Museum – the San Pedro Telmo Fair of Old Things and Antiques was created in Plaza Dorrego, with the aim of getting porteños to value its historical heritage. Antique traders and shops began to settle around the fair attracting tourists and bargain hunters, giving the neighborhood a second life. In 1979, Peña launched the U.24 District project, which landmarked the buildings in a 120 block radius of the Barrio Sur, and mandated that all new construction have a contemporary style, to distinguish them from the historical lot. In 1982, the U.24 evolved into the APH1 (Historic Protection Area) The area began changing its physiognomy, and high-end shops, restaurants, and art exhibitions flourished. Today, it remains one of the best-preserved areas within the ever-changing Buenos Aires, where colonial mansions and cutting-age, contemporary architecture line the cobblestone streets side by side.

Notables