Castelar Hotel

Brief Information

“Castelar” stands out not only because of Lorca’s name, but because of the way an ordinary hotel fit into the strict rules of Avenida de Mayo. The building opened in 1928 under the name Excelsior; it was designed by the Italian architect Mario Palanti and built by the engineer Joseph Pizzone. Later, in 1951, after a change of owners, the hotel received its current name in honor of Emilio Castelar y Ripoll.

The most vivid historical trace is connected with several months in 1933–1934: Federico García Lorca lived here. In 2003, the city authorities installed a commemorative plaque in his room. This fact changes the way one looks at the hotel: before your eyes is not simply the facade of an old hotel, but a place where a literary biography briefly coincided with an address in Buenos Aires.

What to Notice First

Information about the appearance in the source text is limited, but several details help read the building as part of Avenida de Mayo. Above all, it makes sense to note its height: 53.5 meters is given as the maximum height for this avenue, so the hotel’s verticality is linked not only to the architect’s intention, but also to an urban rule.

The second detail is the facade, which from the seventh floor rests on the neighboring building. This is a rare clue to how dense development and height restrictions influenced the form of the building. Another reference point is the ground floor: it houses a restaurant associated with the circle of writers Nora Lange, Oliverio Girondo, and Alfonsina Storni. The commemorative plaque in Lorca’s room adds an internal, address-specific sign of memory to the external architecture.