Puerto Madero
| Puerto Madero | ||
|---|---|---|
| Barrio | ||
Clockwise from top: ARA Uruguay, recycled warehouses made into elegant houses and businesses, the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve and the Puente de la Mujer.
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 Location of Puerto Madero within Buenos Aires |
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| Country |
 Argentina
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| Autonomous City | Buenos Aires | |
| Comuna | C1 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 2.1 km2 (0.8 sq mi) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 6,629 | |
| • Density | 3,200/km2 (8,200/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | ART (UTC-3) | |
Puerto Madero, also known within the urban planning community as the Puerto Madero Waterfront, is a barrio (district) of the Argentine capital at Buenos Aires CBD, occupying a significant portion of the Río de la Plata riverbank and representing the latest architectural trends in the city of Buenos Aires.
From its inception, 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 and passengers and merchandise were 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 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 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.
Edward Taylor's pier, a city landmark from 1855 until the docks' development
The Buenos Aires Harbor around 1915
Partial view of Buenos Aires Harbor
Central Train Station is now part of Puerto Madero
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, 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.
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Wikipedia