+ Chamber of Deputies of the Province of Buenos Aires
Although the whole line has not been included in the present petition for a declaration, we have already requested its inclusion and will soon know the outcome.
BILL
THE SENATE AND THE HONOURABLE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES OF THE PROVINCE OF BUENOS AIRES SANCTION WITH THE FORCE OF LAW.
Article First: Declare that the ruins of the former Club Hotel Casino and its landscaped grounds, designed by Carlos Thays, situated in the locality of Villa Ventana in the Municipal District of Tornquist, all as defined on Plan 106-27-79, and incorporated for all time in the Cultural Inheritance of the Province of Buenos Aires by virtue of Law 10419, amended by Law 12739, be of Provincial Interest as Feu FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ONE. – K
Article Second: Communicate this to the Executive Power.
JUSTIFICATION
The Club Hotel de la Ventana is one of the great edifices to be found within our province and was a landmark in its time due to its architectural character, comfort and size. Its construction started in 1904, when the architects Dunant and Mallet conceived it. The construction was in the hands of an experienced Italian builder called Antonio Gherardi.
The official opening of the Club Hotel de la Ventana was on 11 November 1911. It had a floor area totalling 6,400 m2 (an upper and a lower floor of 3,200 m2 each). The foundations consisted of walls of local stone extending 5 feet below ground level. It had an iron structure including Ionic columns with gilded capitals. The walls were of masonry and the roof of galvanised sheeting. The ceilings were of tongue-and-groove lining boards of pine and plaster according to their location.
The gigantic hotel complex had every convenience for its guests. There was
- - a grand entrance hall with its famous Carrara marble staircase,
- - a reception lounge,
- - a conservatory,
- - a function hall, with 150 seats, for use as a cinema,
- - three gambling rooms,
- - two sick-bays,
- - chemist’s shop,
- - ironing room,
- - two hairdressers (ladies, gentlemen),
- - a spacious indoor gymnasium,
- - a look-out tower whose height dominated the Sierra de la Ventana area,
- - a library (with the finest works of the literature of the age, both Argentine and European),
- - a concert hall,
- - 173 furnished bedrooms complete with bed-linen,
- - central heating,
- - 58 bathrooms, complete with hot and cold running water,
- - a chapel, with a magnificent altar carved in oak with an image of the Most Holy Virgin Mary,
- - a flourmill (which made all the types pastas known in the large centres of population).
The Gran Parque (Great Park) covered about 300 acres and included a large sports complex which included
- + an 18-hole golf course,
- + a polo field,
- + a football pitch (including changing rooms and bathing facilities),
- + an equestrian centre (A riding school was set up, with all the appurtenances necessary for aficionados of this sporting discipline.),
- + three tennis courts (for ladies, gentlemen and children),
- + a swimming pool and
- + at the side of the stream, a beautiful artificial beach of sand and pebbles which served as a magnificent sun-bathing spot.
An important aspect of this property is the landscape design of the park and garden of the Club Hotel undertaken by Carlos Thays.
The railway which linked Sauce Grande (the present day Sierra de la Ventana) station to the Club Hotel was opened on 30 November 1914. It was some 19 kilometres long and specially built to give access to the Club Hotel. The narrow gauge train, or Trochita, because of its 2’-6” gauge, had inside each coach accommodation for 27 first class and 8 second class passengers. The run took some two hours at a speed of 10 kph.
Despite being provided with every luxury, the hotel lasted only six years. The owners of the Club Hotel put it into receivership and closed it on 14 March 1920. The branch line closed on 21 March.
In 1942, Mr.Santiago Saldungaray presented a scheme to the Congress of the Province of Buenos Aires to buy the complex to provide holiday facilities for pupils, schoolteachers and their families. This was done.
In 1943, the crew of the pocket battle-ship Graf Spee brought new life to the former Cub Hotel during their internment there. The inexorable passage of time and the lack of appropriate maintenance were becoming felt in the structure of the building.
In 1961, the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires temporarily leased the complex of the former Club Hotel to the Salesian Congregation. [The Salesians, established by Saint John Bosco, are an Italian Religious Order dedicated to the provision of education.] Within their capabilities, they undertook some refurbishment works, but on the lease’s not being renewed by the Province, the Congregation had to abandon the place.
The establishment then went on to be used by Ordenamiento de Vertientes e Ingeniería Forestal “Florentino Ameghino” (the Florentino Ameghino school of surveying and forestry engineering) in the faculty of Agronomy in the National University of La Plata.
They started refurbishment work in the central part. They propped the roofs. The first floor was intended for the accommodation of teaching and technical staff and one of the wings for classrooms, student bedrooms and the dining room.
The final service provided by the hotel was later on when Command Units of the 5th Army Group were on military manoeuvres.
On 2 February 1980, the intended demolition, due to the number of defects in various parts of the building, was stopped and, instead, the sale of the hotel by the Ministry of Economy of the Province of Buenos Aires to the Sociedad Anónima Comercial e Industrial Frigorífico Guaraní, (the Guaraní commercial and industrial freezer company) was approved.
On 8 July 1983, a fierce fire totally destroyed the monumental edifice of the one time Club Hotel Sierra de la Ventana. The flames devoured the wooden roofs in a few hours as they did the pine wood floors of the bedrooms.
In 1990, the land registry department undertook an inspection and verified the total abandonment and ruinous state of the building. As can be seen in this brief historical account much has happened to this building as much in historic terms as in its great cultural importance which it housed for the inhabitants of this province.
It must be added that the Honourable Council of the Municipal District of Tornquist, by Resolution 05/98, has declared that the ruins of the Club Hotel de Sierra de la Ventana are a Municipal Historic Site.
For the reasons explained, I request that the Legislators vote for this present bill.
PROPOSER: Gerardo Rattero
SECONDERS: Jaime Linares
Daniel A. Gursi
Rodolfo Marcelo Dipascuale
Marcelo E. Feliú
Adalberto Simón
Silvia Caballero
All the translations to the English language have been our friend's gracefulness in Scotland, Mr. David Sinclair