9 de Julio Avenue and the Obelisk - Buenos Aires, Argentina

Avenida 9 de Julio is an avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At 140 meters, it is the world's widest avenue. Its name honors Argentina's birthdate. (July 9, 1816).

The avenue runs from the Retiro district in the north to Constitucion station in the south, roughly one kilometer to the west of the Rio de la Plata waterfront.

Its north end is connected to Libertador avenue, which serves northwards traffic, and its south end is connected to the 25 de Mayo tollway (serving the West side of Greater Buenos Aires as well as Ezeiza airport) and the 9 de Julio elevated tollway that connects to the main roads to the South.

The avenue's unusual width is due to the fact that it spans en entire cuadra, the distance between two streets in the checkerboard pattern used in Buenos Aires.

9 de Julio Avenue - Obelisk - Buenos Aires, Argentina

The distance between adjacent streets is roughly 110 meters, greater than the equivalent Manhattan distance. The street flanking 9 de Julio to the east is called Carlos Pellegrini (north of Rivadavia) and Bernardo de Irigoyen (south of Rivadavia). The street flanking 9 de Julio to the west is called Cerrito (north of Rivadavia) and Lima (south of Rivadavia). Those lateral streets (which actually just add lanes to the avenue) are included in the 140 meter calculation.

The main landmarks along the avenue are, north to south:

- French Embassy:
- Teatro Colon
- The western end of the Lavalle pedestrian street (the strip of movie theaters)
- The Obelisk and Plaza de la Republica
- Statue of Don Quixote in the intersection with Avenida de Mayo
- The former Ministry of Communications building
- Constitucion station and Plaza Constitucion

The avenue was first planned in 1888 with the name of Ayohuma, but works started on the 9 July 1937. The main stretch of the avenue was completed in the 1960s. The southern connections were completed in 1980 as part of the construction of the tollway system,

Click on the Image to enlarge

which required massive demolitions in the area nex to Plaza Constitucion (which thus became the only major traffic pike in the city center) it combined with the forced relocation of thousands of residents. Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro runs for a stretch under the avenue. Line A, Line B, Line D, and Line E have stations when their course intersects the avenue. Notably, lines B, C, and D share a station underneath the Obelisk, which is the focal point of the subway system and features a commercial gallery which also serves as an underpass.

Crossing the avenue at street level often requires a few minutes, as all intersections have traffic lights. Under normal walking speed, it takes pedestrians normally two to three green lights to cross it.



	Buenos Aires, Argentina \| www.buenosaires54.com \| OnLine Since 2002