Parque Tres de febrero
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Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the barrios of Belgrano to the north, Almagro and Recoleta to the south, Villa Crespo and Colegiales to the west and the Río de la Plata river to the east. With a total...
in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Located between Libertador
Avenida del Libertador
Avenida del Libertador is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in points north, extending 25 km from the Retiro District of Buenos Aires to the northern suburb of San Fernando.-History:...
and Figueroa Alcorta Avenue
Figueroa Alcorta Avenue
Avenida Figueroa Alcorta is a major thoroughfare in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a length of over along the city's northside.-History:The rapid northward growth of the city of Buenos Aires during the late nineteenth century was facilitated by plans for a number of boulevards in the area by Mayor...
s, it is known for its groves, lakes, and rose gardens (El Rosedal).
Following the 1852 overthrow
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
of strongman Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, his extensive northside Buenos Aires properties became public alands and, in 1862, a municipal ordinance provided for a city park on most of that land. On the initiative of Congressman Vicente Fidel López
Vicente Fidel López
Vicente Fidel López was an Argentine historian, lawyer and politician. He was a son of writer and politician Vicente López y Planes.-Biography:...
and President Domingo Sarmiento, work began in 1874 on Parque Tres de Febrero (February 3 Park), named in honor of February 3, 1852, the date of the defeat of Governor Rosas, among whose opponents had been Sarmiento.
Designed by urbanist Jordán Czeslaw Wysocki and architect Julio Dormal
Julio Dormal
Julio Dormal was a Belgian architect who, after studying in Paris, arrived in Argentina in 1868 where he became one of first exponents of the Beaux-Arts style of architecture....
, the park was inaugurated on November 11, 1875. The dramatic economic growth of Buenos Aires afterwards helped to lead to its transfer to the municipal domain in 1888, whereby French Argentine
French Argentine
A French Argentine is an Argentine citizen of full or partial French ancestry. French Argentines form the third or fourth largest ancestry group after Italian Argentines, Spanish Argentines, and perhaps German Argentines...
urbanist Carlos Thays
Carlos Thays
Carlos Thays was a French-Argentine landscape architect, and a student of French landscape architect Édouard André.-Biography:...
was commissioned to expand and further beautify the park, between 1892 and 1912. Thays designed the Zoological Gardens
Buenos Aires Zoo
The Buenos Aires Zoo is an zoo in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Zoo contains 89 species of mammals, 49 species of reptiles and 175 species of birds, with a total of over 2,500 different animals...
, the Botanical Gardens, the adjoining Plaza Italia and the Rose Garden.
The Andalusian Patio and Munument to the Four Argentine Regions (the "Spaniards' Monument") were added in 1927, the Municipal Velodrome
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
in 1951 and the Galileo Galilei planetarium
Galileo Galilei planetarium
The Galileo Galilei planetarium, commonly known as Planetario, is located in Parque Tres de Febrero in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History:...
, in 1966. Its Modernist architecture is distinctive in the city—a sphere supported by three arches. A popular field trip destination for the city's schoolchildren
Education in Argentina
Education in Argentina is a responsibility shared by the national government, the provinces and federal district and private institutions, though basic guidelines have historically been set by the Ministry of Education...
, the planets and other astronomical phenomena are projected on the dome, inside.
The demolition of the original Japanese Garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
in the Retiro
Retiro, Buenos Aires
Retiro is a barrio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Located in the northeast end of the city, Retiro is bordered on the south by the Puerto Madero and San Nicolás wards, and on the west by the Recoleta ward.-Urban character:...
area led to the 1967 opening of the current Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens
Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens
The Buenos Aires Japanese Gardens are a public space administered by the non-profit Japanese Argentine Cultural Foundation and are one of the largest gardens of its type in the World, outside of Japan.-Overview:...
, the World's largest outside Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. An Edwardian-style former café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
on the grounds became the Eduardo Sívori Museum
Eduardo Sívori Museum
The Eduardo Sívori Museum is a municipal art museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Overview:Founded on the initiative of city councilman Fernando Ghio, who proposed the creation of a municipal museum devoted to Argentine artists in 1933, the institution was inaugurated...
in 1996.
Many people use the park everyday, both on foot and bicycle, and this number increases greatly at the weekends. Boat rides are available on the three artificial lakes within the park. Close to the boating lake is the Poets' Garden, with stone and bronze busts of renown poets, including Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
and William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. In recent years, the Bosques de Palermo have become popular with transvestite prostitutes at night.