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42-632: It extends 69 blocks from Eduardo Madero Avenue in the eastern Puerto Madero neighborhood to the West and later to the Northwest and ends at Federico Lacroze Avenue in the Chacarita neighborhood. Automobile traffic runs from west to east. Line B of the Buenos Aires Metro runs most of its length underneath the street. The Asociación Amigos de la Calle Corrientes ("Friends of Corrientes Street Association")

84-645: A huge part of Porteño life. Buenos Aires produces some of the best polo players in the world, due to the high quality of ponies raised throughout the fertile grasslands in the Pampas region and the enthusiastic sponsorship of the sport by Argentina's land-owning elites. Each year, in November, the Palermo Open, the world's most prestigious Polo championship, takes place in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires . Also tracing to

126-443: Is a group that collaborates on the urban planning of the street. They have placed commemorative plaques on 40 street corners bearing the distinguished figures from the history of the tango. It was named Del Sol during the 17th century, San Nicolás from 1738 to 1808, and De Incháurregui from 1808 until 1822, when it received its current name. Never more than a street of average width during the nineteenth century, traffic swelled after

168-590: Is in this area (formerly called "Triunvirato") that the greater part of the 1948 Leopoldo Marechal novel, Adán Buenosayres , takes place; Marechal also wrote Historia de la Calle Corrientes in 1937. The neighborhood is home to the Atlanta football club. The barrio was home to tango great Osvaldo Pugliese . Corrientes ends at the Estación Federico Lacroze train station next to Parque Los Andes , where fairs were held until September 2005. Just west of

210-679: Is located to the east of Dock 2. Located on the corner of Aimé Painé (Mapuche princess and indigenous rights activist) and Rosario Vera Peñaloza, the modern Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza was inaugurated in 1996 and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who under the title of Stella Maris, or "Star of the Sea", is the patron saint of the Argentine Coast Guard. The docks aligned with Dock 2, between 1400 and 1500 of Avenida Moreau de Justo, are mostly occupied by various apartment buildings and offices of

252-534: Is named after women. The Puente de la Mujer (Women's Bridge), by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava , is the newest link between the east and west docks of Puerto Madero; a museum inaugurated in 2008, the Fortabat Art Collection , itself resulted from an initiative by Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (the wealthiest woman in Argentina). Puerto Madero currently represents the largest urban renewal project in

294-412: Is today, the city's largest shopping center. Further down Corrientes is Almagro , a calm residential neighborhood inhabited by apartment-dwellers, with the centre of activity at the intersection of Medrano and Rivadavia Avenues. Villa Crespo is another traditionally Jewish neighborhood traversed by Corrientes Avenue. Unleavened bread is available for passover , as are other seasonal specialties. It

336-457: The Balvanera borough (popularly known as Once ) the traditionally Jewish neighborhood known for its many synagogues and the wholesale and retail sale of clothing (now home to merchants of other nationalities, including Koreans , Bolivians and Peruvians ). Beyond Pueyrredón Avenue is the neighbourhood of Abasto , named thus for holding the once cavernous Art Deco Mercado de Abasto ,

378-616: The urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront , is a barrio of Buenos Aires in the Central Business District . Occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank, it is the site for several high-rise buildings and luxurious hotels, featuring the latest architectural trends. It is the barrio with by far the highest property price, surpassing the second-highest twofold. From its inception,

420-525: The wave of European migration to Argentina peaking in the 1880s, the Río de la Plata area became heavily populated with people of European descent, mainly Italian , Spanish and French . They called themselves Porteños to distinguish themselves from existing criollo (colonial Spanish) ancestry, mestizos , indigenous people and mulattoes . Porteños have a unique culture, different from that of their initial European homelands. Notably, equestrian sports are

462-520: The "Junta Nacional de Granos" (National Grain Board) had interests in the zone. The signed agreement implied the transference of the totality of the area to the Old Puerto Madero Corporation S.A., whereas the government of the city remained in charge of the urban development regulations. In the 1990s, local and foreign investment led to a massive regeneration effort, recycling and refurbishing

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504-627: The 1970s. and today Corrientes is once again thriving at night - specially among theatre goers, with several major playhouse renovations and additions. Since the '80s the trend towards world-famous Broadway musicals in Spanish coexists with the more traditional or avant-garde serious theatre and the popular Teatro de Revistas. The last blocks of this main stretch, between Avenida Callao and Uruguay Street are converted into an expansive outdoor reading room during Bookstore Night, an annual event inaugurated in 2007. Mayor Mauricio Macri announced in 2010 that

546-661: The Department of the Interior and the City of Buenos Aires signed the acts of incorporation of a joint-stock company denominated "Corporación Antiguo Puerto Madero" (Old Puerto Madero Corporation). Having as objective the urbanization of the area, the federal and city governments participated as egalitarian partners. The 170 hectares of the place had overlapping jurisdictions: the General Administration of Ports, Argentine railroads and

588-728: The Dock 1, where is currently under construction the 198-metre (649 ft) tall Harbour Tower, set to be completed in 2024 as the second tallest skyscraper in Argentina. In the neighbourhood there are several museums and art galleries, among them the Faena Arts Center , the Fortabat Art Collection and the De la Cárcova Museum . The list also includes the museum ships ARA Uruguay and ARA Presidente Sarmiento . The 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) Tranvía del Este , inaugurated in 2007 and closed in 2012, served

630-896: The Universidad Católica Argentina and its Pabellón de las Artes (Arts Pavilion), a space for art showings with access from the pedestrian side of the dock. Here, there are some bars and coffee shops. Numerous residential and office high-rises of up to 50 stories have been built facing the Rio de la Plata since 2000. Most of them are concentrated along the Dock 3 of Puerto Madero; these include Alvear Tower (239 m (784 ft)), Renoir II (171 m (561 ft)), Mulieris Towers (161 m (528 ft)), El Faro Towers (160 m (520 ft)), Repsol-YPF Tower (160 m (520 ft)), Le Parc Tower (158 m (518 ft)), and Chateau Tower of Puerto Madero (156 m (512 ft)). Tall buildings have also emerged at

672-543: The Wrong Turn") in the street's cabarets and nightclubs of the 1920s and '30s, to the valijeros ( 'peeping toms' ) lone salesmen or office workers (thus named for their briefcases or valijas ) who on lunch breaks sneaked to watch X-rated European movies when they started to appear in the '60s and '70s (although more visible on neighbouring Lavalle St) to the "psico-bolches" – artsy students and intellectuals (typically leftist – bolchevique – and/or dabbling in psychology, thus

714-590: The area as a destination for foreign buyers, particularly those in the market for premium investment properties. The neighbourhood's road network has been entirely rebuilt, especially in the east side. The layout of the east side consists currently of three wide boulevards running east–west crossed by the east side's main street, Juana Manso Avenue. The layout is completed with some other avenues and minor streets, running both east–west and north–south, and by several pedestrianised streets. Every street in Puerto Madero

756-522: The area running parallel to Alicia Moreau de Justo Avenue, along the barrio's western side. The neighbourhood is still not well-connected to the city's transit network. Few bus routes run through Puerto Madero, no subway line reaches it and there are currently no official plans to extend the subway network to the neighbourhood despite planned further extensions of the tramway slated to link the Retiro and Constitución train stations. An expressway connecting

798-607: The avenue forms the Southern border of the lawyers' district surrounding the nearby Plaza Lavalle and the Supreme Court (see "Points of Interest" below) For most of the 20th century "Calle Corrientes" was a symbol of nightlife in Buenos Aires, traditionally nicknamed "the street that never sleeps", In the 10 blocks West of downtown from Maipu St to Callao Avenue it still holds the largest concentration of theatres and cinemas (in

840-478: The city began its rapid westward expansion, around 1880. Horse-drawn tramways first ran on the avenue in 1887; but, they soon proved inadequate and in 1910, Mayor Joaquín de Anchorena signed a bill authorizing its widening. The plan called for the massive razing of most of the avenue's north-side real estate and, so, met with strenuous opposition from affected landlords, retailers, as well as intellectuals like Roberto Arlt . A coup d'ètat in 1930, however, made way for

882-407: The city of Buenos Aires had a problem accommodating large cargo ships, as per Puerto La Boca, because the shallow river did not allow for direct docking. Instead, ships were moored away from the shore, with passengers and merchandise being unloaded onto barges and ferries for transport to the pier. In 1882, the national government contracted the local businessman Eduardo Madero to take charge of

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924-471: The city of Buenos Aires. Having undergone an impressive revival in merely a decade, it is one of the most successful recent waterfront renewal projects in the world. At Puerto Madero Dock 2 (between Azucena Villaflor and Rosario Vera Peñaloza) buildings belonging to the Universidad Católica Argentina stand successively to the west, and the Faena Hotel Buenos Aires (formerly Faena Hotel+Universe )

966-399: The city's former central fruit and vegetable market (whose front faces Corrientes Avenue) and for being the home of Carlos Gardel , Argentina most famous tango singer – popularly known as "el morocho del Abasto" (the dark-haired from Abasto). In disrepair not many years ago, the neighborhood is slowly making a comeback, after local developer IRSA turned the imposing old market into what

1008-423: The construction of a new port which would solve these problems. Construction began in 1887 and was completed in 1897, although the installed fittings had been partially operative some years before completion of the port. It was a costly project and an engineering landmark at the time, but ten years after its completion the appearance of larger cargo ships made Puerto Madero obsolete. The government had to then face

1050-529: The construction of a new port, this time contracting engineer Luis Huergo , whose plans for a port of staggered docks which would open directly onto the river was among those rejected in the 1880s. His plans resulted in the Puerto Nuevo (New Port), still operating today, whose first section opened in 1911. The New Port of Buenos Aires was completed in 1926, making the existing Madero docks superfluous. Though these continued to serve in ancillary port functions,

1092-554: The construction of the Buenos Aires Obelisk , since then one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, visible for several blocks of the avenue´s downtown stretch. The opening of the Obelisk and surrounding Plaza de la República in 1936 created a roundabout at the 9th of July Avenue intersection. Corrientes, like most major city avenues, was made a one-way thoroughfare by a 1967 municipal ordinance. Growing traffic demands led to

1134-458: The east side. Puerto Madero has been redeveloped with international flair, drawing interest from businessmen, architects and designers such as Santiago Calatrava , Norman Foster , César Pelli , Alan Faena , Philippe Starck , among others. Today one of the trendiest boroughs in Buenos Aires, it has become the preferred address for growing numbers of young professionals and retirees, alike. Increasing property prices have also generated interest in

1176-605: The elevated and ground level options because they would constitute a barrier between Puerto Madero and the rest of the city, and the underground scheme because of the cost and negative impact during construction. Placing the expressway between Puerto Madero and the Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve has also been considered, but has been strongly opposed by environmentalists. 34°36′43″S 58°21′53″W  /  34.61194°S 58.36472°W  / -34.61194; -58.36472 Porte%C3%B1os In Spanish ,

1218-687: The financial district section of Corrientes - between Ninth of July and Avenida Leandro N. Alem , would become a two-way avenue. "Off-Corrientes" refers to the alternative playhouse scene, much of it literally concentrated on surrounding streets – although also widely distributed elsewhere in city neighbourhoods. The Rojas Cultural Center of the University of Buenos Aires , which promotes experimental art, and like-minded venues such as Gandhi and Liberarte (which blend bookstore and cultural centre) although catering to "off-Corrientes" crowds, are themselves located on Corrientes. Further down, Corrientes traverses

1260-470: The folklore. At its inception – the Luna Park is still synonymous with mass sports and entertainment events such as boxing matches or concerts. Throughout the decades the street has seen its own fauna of urban stereotypes, from the "innocent barrio girl" corrupted by the "bright city lights" of many a tango lyric (cf. "La costurerita que dio aquel mal paso"  [ es ] "The Seamstress who Took

1302-514: The inherent geographies of the Pampas , Porteño cuisine consists heavily of beef . For example, the national dish of Argentina is asado . Since Porteño is not officially reportable on any census , estimates differ regarding their population and geography. However, it is estimated that over 3 million Uruguayans identify as Porteño, making up over 90% of the country's population. While not the majority ethnicity in Argentina , Porteños are prominent in

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1344-466: The largest concentration of bookshops (many second hand), Corrientes was during the day a favourite haunt for intellectuals during the '50s, '60s and '70s (specially at celebrated spots such as "Cafe La Paz") while its famous pizza parlours and restaurants (such as Los Inmortales and Güerrin ) attracted city crowds on Fridays or Saturdays evenings – a night out of "pizza and cinema" (or of theatre going) on Corrientes and neighbouring Calle Lavalle being

1386-462: The nickname) who mulled around its bookstores and cultural centres in the early 80s after the return of democracy The emergence of video, the Internet, cineplex and shopping malls reduced much of the allure of Corrientes, and saw the closing of several famous cinemas and theatres. Yet sidewalks were widened and beautified in 2005 to facilitate retail activity along the avenue, which had declined since

1428-402: The north and the south of the city through Puerto Madero has long been in the planning stage. Several alternatives have been considered, including elevated, ground level, underground, and even an underwater proposal by private developer Julio Torcello, which would run under the four docks. This last proposal was dismissed as impossible to build. All the other proposals have also been criticised:

1470-456: The opening of the avenue through the plaza, and around the Obelisk, in 1971. The first few blocks (from Leandro N. Alem to Florida Street) encompass Buenos Aires financial district ("La City") forming its Northern boundary, and are bustling with activity during banking hours – traversed after several blocks by pedestrian Florida St (which forms the district's Western boundary). Further down, for some blocks from 9 de Julio Avenue to Uruguay St

1512-544: The park is La Chacarita Cemetery ; the largest in Argentina. The cemetery is at times referred to colloquially and in tango lyrics as La Quinta del Ñato (a lunfardo term referring to a person's last dwelling ). Corrientes Avenue is featured in several tango lyrics, notably: [REDACTED] Media related to Avenida Corrientes at Wikimedia Commons 34°36′14″S 58°23′10″W  /  34.603978°S 58.386201°W  / -34.603978; -58.386201 Puerto Madero Puerto Madero , also known within

1554-454: The past together with nearby pedestrian calle Lavalle "La calle de los cines" or "Cinema street") making it the center of commercial theatre in the city and the country. Independent theatre in Buenos Aires for example is called " off Corrientes" (after off Broadway ). The corridor includes some outstanding examples of Art Deco cinema architecture of the '30s and '40s such as Teatro Gran Rex , Teatro Opera and Teatro Premier . Also with

1596-505: The plan's implementation, carried out relentlessly until its completion, in 1936. Today, when referring to Corrientes prior to the widening, the term "Narrow Corrientes" ( Corrientes Angosta ) is still used. Also the name "Corrientes Street" ( calle Corrientes ) is often preferred over the correct "Corrientes Avenue" (a venida Corrientes ) specially on the famous centrical stretch (with that name it appears famously in several tango lyrics, see below ). The newly inaugurated avenue coincided with

1638-451: The standard form of urban weekend entertainment for generations of porteños (as reflected in lyrics such as "Moscato, pizza y fainá"). The Revista porteña or Teatro de revistas (Argentina's culture of theatre revues ) with its glittering vedettes and racy capo-cómicos (legendary starlets and comedians) is still centered around this stretch of Corrientes – the lure of red carpet opening nights where celebrities can be glimpsed adding to

1680-526: The term Porteño (feminine: Porteña ) means "port city person". It is mainly used to refer to the residents of Buenos Aires , Argentina , but also from other port cities such as El Puerto de Santa María , Spain; Valparaíso , Chile; Mazatlán , Veracruz , Acapulco and Tampico , Mexico; Puerto Cabello , Venezuela; Puerto Colombia , Colombia; Puerto Suárez in Bolivia; Puerto Cortés , Honduras; Puntarenas , Costa Rica, and Montevideo , Uruguay. During

1722-485: The west side warehouses into elegant houses, offices, lofts , private universities, luxurious hotels and restaurants that conform to a gallery of options for this new district in a city that grew up turning its back to the river. Led by the 1999 opening of the Hilton Buenos Aires , luxurious hotels, state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas, theatres, cultural centres, and office and corporate buildings are located mostly in

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1764-458: The zone gradually decayed, becoming one of the city's most degraded areas, a mixture of warehouses and large tracts of undeveloped land. In 1925, 1940, 1960, 1969, 1971, 1981 and 1985, successive proposals were put forth with the intent of urbanizing the old port, or to demolish it outright; none of these plans came to fruition, however. On November 15, 1989, the Ministry of Works and Public Services,

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