The Monumental Tower (former Tower of the British) of Buenos Aires has recently been restored. It's located in Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina, in front of Retiro train and bus station. The monument was built as an initiative of British residents in Argentina to commemorate the centennial of our nation. The winning project belons to British architect Sir Ambrose Macdonald Poynter. The construction was in charge of Hopkins & Gardom company.
The inauguration of the tower was May 24th, 1916. It was delayed 6 years because of the First World War. All of the material for the construction were brought from England: cement, Portland stones and Leicester styled bricks. The tower is Palladian style (the main style in British architecture during the XVI Century). This amazing monument has four stairs access and lots of ornaments with different symbols of the British Empire as: suns, Tudor rosese, Welsh dragons ans Irish clovers.
The tower is 75.5 meters tall (8 story tall) and has a famous 4 faced clock at the height of 35 meters. The five bronze bells which sound every hour are supposed to simmulate the bells from Westminster Abbey. This beautiful monument is one of the best sightsees in Buenos Aires and it's just 6 blocks away from our Hostel Colonial.
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