Palacio de la Legislatura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

The Palacio de la Legislatura de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (English: Palace of the Buenos Aires City Legislature) houses the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is an architectural landmark in the city's Montserrat district, situated in a triangular block bounded by the streets Calle Hipólito Yrigoyen, Avenida Presidente Julio Argentino Roca and Calle Perú. Built of grey granite, it has a Neoclassical design. The building is open to the public on week-days only. The building contains the Esteban Echeverría Library, Salon Rosado (also known as the Salon Eva Perón), and a carillon which, when it was installed in 1930, was the largest in South America.

A lot southwest of the Plaza de Mayo was set aside for the building's construction. The building's design was awarded through a competition to local architect Héctor Ayerza. Approved and budgeted by the council in 1926, Ayerza's eclectic design drew heavily from French Neoclassical architecture. The foundation stone was laid under the First Congress of Municipalities of the Republic of Argentina, on November 18, 1926 by Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear. A commemorative plaque was affixed on the occasion. Louis Falcone was awarded the contract with a completion time of 5 years, and the work started on September 19, 1927; the contract included works of luxury fittings, lighting, a clock tower with five bells and a carillon with 30 bells. Problems with contractual interpretation were arbitrated by the engineer Sebastian Ghigliazza. The palace was inaugurated on October 3, 1931. The building has been home to other government agencies.Juan Perón, who established the Secretariat of Labor and Social Insurance, set aside a wing in the building for the purpose. Perón had the building declared a National Historic Monument in 1951.

Constructed in the Neoclassical style, the building has a basement, three storeys and a penthouse. It incorporates an older residence that faced the Plaza de Mayo but now fronts the Avenida Julio A. Roca. The main door, located at the corner of Avenida Julio A. Roca and the Calle Peru, is of carved wood with a central brass knocker shaped as a lion's head. The front of the building has Corinthian style colonnades and balconies with balustrades. The former Municipal shield, made of bronze, adorns a large window. Architecturally, the building is perhaps best known for its 26 cornice caryatids (most by sculptor Troiano Troiani), the clock tower, and carillon (a musical instrument that is typically housed in the bell tower) of 30 bells. Aside from the legislative chambers themselves, the building's interior features a number of architecturally noteworthy salons and halls, as well as two libraries; the spacious halls are named the Golden Hall, the San Martin Hall, the Montevideo Hall, the Lost Steps Hall, the Eva Perón Lounge, the Dining Room of Honor, the Aldermen Hall and the Exhibition Hall. The Esteban Echeverría Library houses a unique collection of 2,000 books from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. The other library, known as the Hemeroteca José Hernández, has numerous newspaper archives from 1870 covering topics of history, culture and general news. A staircase is situated opposite the main entrance to Avenida Julio A. Roca. It splits into two sections before reaching the main floor rotunda. Above it, a stained glass dome representing the sun can be opened manually or electronically to view the open sky.

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