Neuquén's General San Martín Monument
| Monumento al General San Martín | |
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| Coordinates | 39°57′07.0″S 68°03′32.9″W / 39.951944°S 68.059139°W |
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| Location | Neuquén, Argentina |
| Designer | José Antonio Alonso |
| Beginning date | 1953 |
| Completion date | September 1954 |
| Opening date | September 12, 1954 |
| Dedicated to | José de San Martín |
The General San Martín Monument (Spanish: Monumento al General San Martín), located in the city center of Neuquén, Argentina, is a memorial built to commemorate Argentinian general José de San Martín. The monument is constituted by a bronx-made equestrian statue of San Martín, mounted on a pedestal.
After a statue of San Martín was commissioned by Argentina to be placed in the city of Buenos Aires, several provinces of the country requested replicas to be placed on their capital cities. In 1950, the city of Neuquén created a commission to erect the city's monument. The commission resolved to locate the statue on the city center, and hired an Italian company to build the pedestal.
The monument was inaugurated on the city's 50th anniversary, September 12, 1954. In 2014, after repeated acts of vandalism, the structure of the monument was reformed. A waterfall was added to the four sides of the pedestal with a fountain on the bottom to prevent the memorial be painted.
In 1859, Chile commissioned for Santiago a statue to commemorate José de San Martín to French sculptor Louis-Joseph Daumas, who was specialized in equestrian figures. After becoming aware of the Chilean initiative, the Argentinian government commissioned the same year another statue to Daumas. It was placed on the current Plaza San Martín, in Buenos Aires, and was inaugurated in 1862. Upon the request of different provinces, several replicas of the monument were built and sent from Buenos Aires.
In 1950, the city of Neuquén created the Executive Commission for Homages to General San Martin (Spanish: Comisión Ejecutiva de Homenajes al Libertador General San Martín) to erect a monument. Throughout July, the commission surveyed the possible locations in town. The commission suggested to place the monument on the grounds of the "Chateau Gris", the town hall building that was demolished on that year. In 1953 the commission settled to locate it on the roundabout of the intersections of Eva Perón Avenue (currently named Argentina Avenue) between Presidente Roca and Ministro Gonzáles streets. Selected for its location on the center of the city, at the time the roundabout hosted another monument, the Foundational Pyramid. The pyramid was moved to the former grounds of the old town hall. The construction works started soon after to inaugurate the San Martín Monument on September 12, 1954, the city's 50th anniversary.
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Wikipedia