Central Station. Paseo de Julio. Buenos Aires. Circa 1900.

Albumen print. Portrait cabinet type format -measures: 9.8 x 14.5 cm / 3.85 x 5.7 in-, mounted on a rigid vintage cardboard without indication of authorship. Printed on the negative we read: "3 - Estación Central - Paseo de Julio", and on the back, on a printed and glued label: "Estación Central". Work in good condition.

The image shows intense activity in the vicinity of the Central Station, with an abundance of freight cars and passenger cars. This railway station was installed in 1872 and, unfortunately, on February 14, 1897 it fell prey to a voracious fire (some chronicles indicate intentional). It was located on Paseo de Julio -Julio Promenade- (current Leandro N. Alem avenue), between Piedad street (today Bartolomé Mitre) and Cangallo (today Juan D. Perón). The building with very particular lines was built in wood, with a metal roof and a high cupola. Its original destination was India. It was acquired in London by the railway businessman Guillermo Wheelwright and was built on the old Paseo de Julio very close to the Government House. Its special architecture and the key role in communications of the time, attracted the gaze of many photographers, resulting in one of the most documented buildings in the city of Buenos Aires.

Of Swiss origin, Samuel Rimathé arrived in the country in 1888 and just two years later a business dedicated to photography was already operating in Buenos Aires, on 151 Libertad Street. He specialized in registering urban, rural and popular types of views. With some changes of address in the middle, he acted in our environment until 1907. In those years he made numerous trips through the interior of the country, and also through Paraguay and Uruguay. Very active, it was a great provider of images for postcard publishers and, in this editorial line, it was able to offer excellent graphic material in the face of the enormous demand for inexpensive postcards and in turn it commercialized the books of views. (1)

Notes: 1. Abel Alexander and Luis Priamo indicate this in their well-known book “City and field between two centuries. Buenos Aires, Cuyo and the Litoral in 1890 - 1910. Photographs by Samuel Rimathé ”. Editions of the Torch. 2007.