Palais de Glace, National art museum in Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Palais de Glace is an art museum housed in a Belle Époque-style building featuring a central circular hall with gallery boxes arranged around its perimeter. The space displays more than one thousand artworks in various media.
Designed by J. L. Ruiz Basadre and inaugurated in 1910 or 1911 as an ice rink and social club, the Palais de Glace was bought around 1912 by Baron Antonio Demarchi, who turned it into a tango dance hall. In 1931 the city handed it to the Ministry of Education and Justice, and Alejandro Bustillo remodelled it for the National Fine Arts Exhibition, held there from 1932 to 1954. Declared a National Historic Monument in 2004, it is now closed for restoration.
The building's name comes from its first use as an ice rink, and its ballroom hosted the tango evenings that helped make the dance respectable among the porteño elite. Today it is the seat of the Salón Nacional de Artes Visuales, the country's main art competition, awarding prizes in painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, textile art, photography and new media. Its collection holds around a thousand works.
The building at Posadas 1725 is temporarily closed for restoration, upgrading and technological adaptation. Until it reopens, Salón Nacional exhibitions and temporary shows are held at venues of the Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación, and administrative offices operate at the Centro Cultural Borges. Check the current venue before planning a visit.
The building underwent renovation by architect Alejandro Bustillo in the 1930s and received three large murals that respected the original circular layout. These wall artworks remain visible today and are integral to the museum's visual character.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,645 contributors worldwide.
