PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

History and retail mix in Argentina

By Kerri Linden

Galerías Pacífico is arguably the ultimate tourist shopping experience, allowing customers to fill their bags with merchandise and their minds with Latin American culture. Located on pedestrian-heavy Florida Street, in the city’s Microcentro district, the mall’s clientele is over 50 percent tourists.

But this is no tourist trap. The center is a historic point of pride for the natives. In 1989 the building was officially declared a national monument. “Without a doubt, its great history has made the local public and tourists recognize this building as an important emblematic symbol,” said Elba Calamante, the mall’s administrative manager.

Architects see the building as a good mixture of past and present. “My vision of Galerías Pacífico’s model is that it shows the viability of adapting a building with a high historic patrimonial value to a modern retailing proposal, without one losing to the other,” said Gabriel González, a partner at Buenos Aires-based Celayeta González Orlando Arquitectos.

Emilio Agrelo and Roland Le Vacher designed the center in 1889 for the Argentine Bon Marché, a department store modeled after Paris’ Le Bon Marché. The design is similar to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, in Milan, with long arcades rendered in the beaux-arts style of 19th-century Paris. “The objective was always clear: to build a magnificent building, in a pure European style, that would become the destination of high-level retailing stores, where the arts would have a place of privilege in the new galleries, with spaces to showcase art samples,” said Calamante. The mall now includes the Borges Cultural Center, home to art exhibits, concerts and cultural events, as well as a dance school run by the Julio Bocca Foundation.

In 1908 the Buenos Aires-Pacifico Railway Co. took over part of the building for its offices. The company aimed to run a train service from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, Chile, making a gateway to the Pacific Ocean. In 1945 the center added a large cupola around the stores and such famed artists as Berni, Castagnino, Colmenio, Spilimbergo and Urruchúa were commissioned to decorate it with 12 expansive frescoes. Today critics consider the frescoes to be among the city’s finest works. A 1990 renovation reincorporated the former rail offices into the center and added four frescoes.

The mall’s 150 stores include such global brands as Cacharel, Christian Dior, Polo and Tommy Hilfiger. “Galerías Pacífico is synonymous with style, prestige, comfort, fashion, relevance and security,” said Calamante. “We are the only shopping center where art and retailing are intimately intertwined. This combination and its contrasting equilibrium between modern and classic create a highly attractive environment to shop and to stroll in a privileged location in the city.”