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GRIND
YOUR COFFEE AT HOME
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BUENOS AYRES,
Argentine Republic. |
Buenos Ayres, the
Capital of the Argentine
Republic, was founded in 1535 by
a Spanish expedition under Don
Jorge de Mendoza, on the right
bank of the estuary of the La
Plata. The river at this point is
so wide as to make it impossible
to distinguish the opposite bank
with the unassisted eye, and at
the same time so shallow that
ships drawing 15 or 16 feet of
water must anchor seven or eight
miles from the city. The town is
in a vast plain extending
westward to the Andes. Stormy
periods of foreign invasion and
civil wars filled the centuries
until the establishment of the
republic in 1861. Since that time
progress in the development of
resources has been so rapid that
the city is now the finest in
South America, giving promise of
becoming the first city south of
the equator before the close of
this century. The streets are
systematically arranged; Calle
Reconquista is the street of
banks, Calle Maypů that of
merchants, Calle Victoria that of
shops, Calle Piedad that of
newspapers and money-changers,
and Calle Florida the favorite
promenade. Plaza Victoria, one of
the twelve public squares, has
the government house, custom
house, opera house, cathedral,
and other important buildings.
The cathedral is one of the
finest churches in the New World,
approximating in dimensions and
seating capacity to St. Paul's,
Notre Dame, or St. Peter's. Its
portico is supported by twelve
Corinthian columns, the interior
solemn and imposing, with twelve
side chapels, the high altar
standing under the dome, which
rises 130 feet. There are six
theatres. The Politeama, in Calle
Esmeralda, is the largest in
South America. The Colon, in
Plaza Victoria, intended chiefly
for Italian Opera, holds 2,500
persons. The Buenos Ayreans
inherit from their ancestors much
of that passion for music which
characterizes the Spaniard. |
The
industrial works in the suburbs
are using the most improved
machinery known in Europe or
North America, and the city has
telegraphic relations with every
part of the world. |
Population, 1890, 561,160. |
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