page_title: La Plata
section_title: History and description
hierarchical_section_title: La Plata / History and description
caption_attribution_description: Panorama urbano de La Plata, vista desde Barrio Norte. La Plata, ARG.
context_page_description: La Plata is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the 2010 census [INDEC], it has a population of 765,378 and its metropolitan area has 899,523 inhabitants.
  La Plata was planned and developed to serve as the provincial capital after the city of Buenos Aires was federalized in 1880. It was officially founded by Governor Dardo Rocha on 19 November 1882. Its construction is fully documented in photographs by Tomás Bradley Sutton. La Plata was briefly known as Ciudad Eva Perón between 1952 and 1955.
  The city is home to two important first division football teams: Estudiantes de La Plata and Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
context_section_description: Rocha decided to erect a new city to host the provincial government institutions and a university which had already been planned. Urban planner Pedro Benoit designed a city layout based on a rationalist conception of urban centers. The city has the shape of a square with a central park and two main diagonal avenues, north to south and east to west. In addition, there are numerous other shorter diagonal streets. This design is copied in a self-similar manner in small blocks of six by six blocks in length. For every six blocks, there is a small park or square. Other than the diagonal streets, all streets are on a rectangular grid and are numbered consecutively. Thus, La Plata is nicknamed "la ciudad de las diagonales" (city of diagonals). It is also called "la ciudad de los tilos" (city of linden trees), because of the large number of linden trees lining the many streets and squares. The linden tree is one of a number of deciduous Northern Hemisphere tree species which dominate La Plata's parks and streets; ash, horsechestnut, plane, sweetgum and tulip tree are among the other examples. Palms and subtropical broadleaf evergreen trees thrive but are comparatively infrequent.
  The city design and its buildings are noted to possess a strong Freemason symbolism. This is said to be a consequence of both Rocha and Benoit being Freemasons.
  The designs for the government buildings were chosen in an international architectural competition. Thus, the Governor Palace was designed by Italians, the City Hall by Germans, etc. Electric street lighting was installed in 1884 and was the first of its kind in Latin America.
  The neo-Gothic cathedral of La Plata is the largest church in Argentina.
  The Teatro Argentino de La Plata is one of the most important opera houses in Argentina, second to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The theatre was built on the square block between 9th and 10th Street and 51st and 53rd Avenue. It was opened on 19 November 1890. It was designed by Leopoldo Rochi in Renaissance style. The work was funded by the first inhabitants of La Plata, but as maintenance was very expensive, it was later donated to the Province of Buenos Aires. In the foyer, entering through the majestic doors, there was a beautiful white Carrara marble staircase. In the concert hall, hangs a huge chandelier with trimmings suspended from the ceiling. The easy chairs were tapestried in blue velveteen and the Bordeaux curtain was embroidered in gold. It had marvelous acoustics. In those years, the students of the Verdi Conservatory of Music performed in the theatre, their annual show of classical Spanish and folklore dances with the teachers Carmen de Toledo, Mrs. Schubert and Nelly Rossotti respectively. Surrounding the theatre was the "Peace Garden," containing flags and national flowers of several countries. People strolled and children played along its stony paths. However, fate decreed that it would not be saved from a fire on 18 October 1977 at 2.30 p.m. This has been noted as one of the largest losses to La Plata's historical heritage. It was later replaced by a new building, which houses the theatre's orchestra, choir and ballet, boasting several halls.
  The Curutchet House is one of the two buildings by Le Corbusier built in the Americas.
  The University of La Plata was founded in 1897 and nationalized in 1905. It is well known for its observatory and natural history museum. Ernesto Sabato graduated in Physics at this university; he went on to teach at the Sorbonne and the MIT before becoming a famed novelist. Doctor René Favaloro was another famous alumnus. During its early years, the university attracted a number of renowned intellectuals from the Spanish-speaking world, such as Dominican Pedro Henríquez Ureña.
  San Ponciano church is on the corner of 48th and 5th Streets. It was the first chapel in La Plata, inaugurated on 19 November 1883, the first anniversary of the foundation of the city. The project belongs to Pedro Benoit, who was also the designer of the city plan. Its neo-Gothic style has been well kept, and the inner paintings are
caption: Panoramic view of La Plata.
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