Former National Congress Building, Buenos Aires, Legislative building in Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
The Antiguo Congreso Nacional was the first seat of Argentina's Congress, on a 45-degree corner lot at Balcarce and Hipólito Yrigoyen. Its session hall survives inside the later bank building, entered at Balcarce 139, with the original desks of the president, secretaries and stenographers and the 1870 portrait of Valentín Alsina by Manzoni.
Jonás Larguía, an architect trained in Rome, drew up the plans approved on 12 March 1863, and the building opened on 12 May 1864 with President Bartolomé Mitre and his four ministers present. Legislators met here until 15 December 1905, when the last session was closed before the move to the new Palacio del Congreso. In 1942 the building was almost entirely demolished for the Banco Hipotecario Nacional, though the session hall survived inside the new structure.
The session hall preserves original 19th century furnishings like stenographers' tables and decorative lamps that show how legislators worked in this space. These items tell the story of the political debates that took place here and shaped the nation.
The session hall is entered at Balcarce 139, a few metres from the Casa Rosada on Plaza de Mayo. It is the seat of the Academia Nacional de Historia, so access depends on the institution rather than on regular guided tours; check opening arrangements before going.
The session hall survived the 1942 demolition because Decree 120.412 declared it a National Historic Monument that same year. It was kept intact inside the new National Mortgage Bank building, which was completed in 1966. The hall is entered at Balcarce 139 and has housed the Academia Nacional de la Historia since 1971.
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