National Museum of Immigration, Immigration museum in Retiro district, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The National Museum of Immigration occupies the former Hotel de Inmigrantes, a four-story gray concrete building of Italianate style in Retiro, Buenos Aires, built between 1905 and 1911. Its long facade is divided into a ground floor and three upper floors, with rows of tall rectangular windows and white-tiled interior walls. A raised curved parapet with a circular emblem breaks the roofline at the upper center.
The building opened in 1911 as the Hotel de los Inmigrantes and received newcomers arriving mainly from Europe. It remained in operation until 1953 and was later converted into a museum to preserve the experiences of these families.
Display rooms hold original suitcases, clothing, and handwritten letters from families who came from Italy, Spain, Poland, and Syria. Visitors can enter the waiting rooms where newcomers had their papers checked before entering the country.
Admission is free, and guided tours take place on weekends. The building stands at the end of Antártida Argentina Avenue near the waterfront area of Puerto Madero.
The complex was designed as a citadel of pavilions around a central plaza, and the accommodation block was among the first buildings in Buenos Aires made of reinforced concrete. Beds had leather covers instead of mattresses so they could be disinfected during outbreaks.
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