The Teatro Colón took eighteen years to build: its first architect died soon after work began, the second was murdered and the third finished it in time to open in 1908 with Aida. Today conductors rank it among the finest opera houses in the world. Thirteen stops between the square of the old artillery park, the facade on Libertad, the station where Argentina's first train departed, the corner of the three architects, the horseshoe hall, the secret of its sound, the hidden factory behind the stage, the poets' café, the avenue that cut the arches off the Cabildo, the hotel where García Lorca lived, the theatre born the same year as the Colón, the skyscraper inspired by Dante and the palace the Colón's second architect never saw finished either. Approximate audio duration: 25 minutes.
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Teatro Colón: tres arquitectos, dos muertes y una de las mejores acústicas del mundo
El Teatro Colón tardó dieciocho años en construirse: su primer arquitecto murió al poco de empezar, el segundo fue asesinado y el tercero lo terminó para abrirlo en 1908 con Aida. Hoy los directores de orquesta lo ubican entre las mejores salas de ópera del mundo. Trece paradas entre la plaza del viejo parque de artillería, la fachada sobre Libertad, la estación de donde salió el primer tren argentino, la esquina de los tres arquitectos, la sala en herradura, el secreto de su sonido, la fábrica escondida detrás del escenario, el café de los poetas, la avenida que le cortó los arcos al Cabildo, el hotel donde vivió García Lorca, el teatro que nació el mismo año que el Colón, el rascacielos inspirado en Dante y el palacio que el segundo arquitecto del Colón tampoco vio terminado. Duración aproximada de audio: 25 minutos.
Tour stops
13 stops · ~25 min of audio · 3 km on foot (~45 min walking) · about 1 h 15 min in total
You are standing in Plaza Lavalle, among enormous trees and lawyers hurrying across with folders under their arms. On one side is the Palace of Justice, which locals simply call Tribunales, the Courts. On the other, a block away, the pale facade of the Teatro Colón comes into view.
In the mid nineteenth century this ground lay on the edge of the city. The army's Artillery Park stood here, a depot of weapons and barracks. For decades the whole area was known simply as the Park.
In July 1890 this spot was the heart of an armed uprising against the government of Miguel Juárez Celman, remembered…
2
The Theatre Buenos Aires Wanted
You are in front of the main facade of the Teatro Colón. Look at the columns, the balustraded balconies, the arched windows running from one end of the building to the other. This is a building designed to impress from the pavement.
The style is eclectic. Its own architects described it as a blend: the overall structure of the Italian Renaissance, the solidity of German architecture and the decorative grace of the French. A very Buenos Aires summary of everything Europe had to offer.
But this is not the first Teatro Colón. The first one opened in 1857 facing the Plaza de Mayo, on the site no…
3
Where Argentina's First Train Departed
You are at the corner of Libertad and Viamonte, beside the side of the theatre. Before the Colón, there was a railway station on this block. And not just any station.
On 29 August 1857, Argentina's very first train left from here, on the Western Railway. The station was called Estación del Parque, after the artillery park you have just seen. The locomotive was named La Porteña.
That first journey covered about ten kilometres westwards, to what is now Floresta station. For the people of Buenos Aires at the time it was a spectacle: smoke, noise and speed in a city of ox carts.
Notice the coin…
4
Three Architects and Two Deaths
You are at the corner of Tucumán and Libertad, at the other end of the facade. You have just walked a whole city block. All of that, and everything behind it, took eighteen years to build. Now you will see why.
The first architect was the Italian Francesco Tamburini. He was the government's leading architect and had worked on the Casa Rosada. He drew up the plans for the Colón, but died in 1891, when work had barely begun.
The project passed to his collaborator, another Italian: Vittorio Meano. Meano revised the plans and pressed on, but the crash of 1890 had left the country without credit.…
5
The Horseshoe Hall
You are in the main auditorium of the Teatro Colón. Look up. Red, gold, and boxes rising tier after tier around the stalls until they disappear near the ceiling.
The hall is shaped like a horseshoe, in the style of the great Italian opera houses. Down below are the stalls. Around them, the boxes and galleries. At the very top is the gallery known as paraíso, paradise, where the cheapest seats were and, many say, the best sound.
It seats about 2,500 people. Add the standing places and the hall can hold close to 3,000. It is one of the largest opera auditoriums in the world.
Notice the boxes …
6
The Secret of Its Sound
You are still in the hall, now facing the stage. With luck, someone may be rehearsing right now. Listen to how a single voice reaches the farthest corner without losing body or clarity.
The Colón's fame rests above all on this: its acoustics. The American acoustician Leo Beranek, who spent decades studying the world's great halls, surveyed conductors for his book on concert halls and opera houses. In his ranking of opera houses, the Colón came first.
What is remarkable is that nobody calculated it that way. When it was designed, architectural acoustics as a science was only just being born. …
7
The Factory Behind the Stage
You are on Calle Cerrito, at the back of the Colón, facing Avenida 9 de Julio. On this side there are no grand steps or columns for the public. This is where the work comes in.
The Colón is not just an auditorium: it is a factory of performances. It has its own workshops for scenery, costumes, wigs, make-up, footwear and props. Much of what appears on stage is made inside this very building.
It also has its own resident companies: an orchestra, a chorus and a ballet. And a school, the Instituto Superior de Arte, which trains singers, dancers and stage technicians.
Many of those workshops li…
8
The Poets' Café
You are in front of the Café Tortoni, at Avenida de Mayo 825. If there is a queue at the door, do not be surprised: it is the most famous café in Buenos Aires. Inside await dark wood panelling, marble tables, mirrors and a stained-glass skylight.
It was founded in 1858 by a French immigrant, and its name pays tribute to a celebrated café on the Boulevard des Italiens in Paris. In other words, it was born just one year after the first Teatro Colón.
At first the entrance was on the other side, on Calle Rivadavia. When Avenida de Mayo was opened, the café turned around: in 1898 the architect Al…
9
The Avenue That Cut the Arches Off the Cabildo
You are at the crossing of Avenida de Mayo and 9 de Julio. Look west: at the end of the avenue rises the green dome of the Congress. Behind you, the other way, lies the Plaza de Mayo with the Casa Rosada.
Avenida de Mayo was the first great avenue of Buenos Aires. It was promoted by the mayor Torcuato de Alvear in the 1880s and inaugurated in 1894. In a straight line it joined the seat of government with the seat of Congress.
To open it, the blocks had to be cut through the middle, between Calle Rivadavia and Calle Hipólito Yrigoyen. Many houses were sliced in half. Even the Cabildo, the bui…
10
The Hotel Where García Lorca Lived
You are in front of the Hotel Castelar, at Avenida de Mayo 1152. Look at the tall facade, with its tower crowning the corner of the building. It is one of the classic hotels of the avenue.
It was designed by the Italian architect Mario Palanti and opened in 1928. Palanti is a name worth remembering: a few blocks ahead you will see his most ambitious work.
In October 1933 a thirty-five-year-old Spanish guest arrived at this hotel: Federico García Lorca. He had come to Buenos Aires because of the success of Blood Wedding, which the company of the actress Lola Membrives was staging in the city.…
11
The Theatre Born with the Colón
You are in front of the Teatro Avenida, at Avenida de Mayo 1222. Compared with the Colón it is small and modest. But it has its own story, and it begins the same year.
It opened in 1908, a few months after the Colón. While the great theatre on Calle Libertad welcomed the Italian opera companies, this one was devoted mainly to Spanish drama and zarzuela, right in the avenue of the Spanish community.
It was also the stage of Lola Membrives and Blood Wedding. In 1933 Federico García Lorca came to this theatre, a few steps from his hotel, and stepped out to greet the audience amid applause.
So …
12
The Skyscraper Inspired by Dante
You are in front of the Palacio Barolo, at Avenida de Mayo 1370. Look all the way up: the tower ends in a dome topped by a lighthouse. No other building on the avenue looks anything like it.
It was commissioned by Luis Barolo, an Italian immigrant who had made his fortune in textiles. The architect was Mario Palanti, the same man who designed the Hotel Castelar. It was completed in 1923. Barolo did not live to see it: he died in 1922.
At around one hundred metres tall, it was for years the tallest building in Buenos Aires, until it was overtaken in 1936 by the Kavanagh building.
Palanti adm…
13
Meano's Other Palace
You are in the Plaza del Congreso, at the end of Avenida de Mayo. In front of you stands the Palace of the National Congress, with its green dome some eighty metres high. This is where Argentina's deputies and senators meet.
Note the name of its architect: Vittorio Meano. The same man who took charge of the Colón after Tamburini's death. In 1895 he won the competition for this building, and for years he worked on both at once.
Meano was murdered in 1904. He did not see the Colón open in 1908. Nor did he see this palace, which was inaugurated in 1906 while still unfinished. Work on the Congre…
How long does the "Teatro Colón: Three Architects, Two Deaths and One of the World's Finest Acoustics" audio tour take?
It has about 25 minutes of audio across 13 stops and a 3 km walking route (~45 min on foot). Plan roughly 1 h 15 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Square of the Old Artillery Park" (coordinates -34.60165, -58.3852). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Buenos Aires and pick "Teatro Colón: Three Architects, Two Deaths and One of the World's Finest Acoustics". No account required to start.
