Real Estate Agency

Brief information

The two red domes of La Inmobiliaria serve as a marker for the whole block: the building stretches along the southern side of Avenida de Mayo and its rear facade faces Congress Square. It was built for an insurance company, but the ground floor quickly gave the place another name. Guillermo Heinlein's plumbing-fixtures sales firm was located there, so for a long time the building was known as the Heinlein Palace.

This contrast is useful for reading the facade: before your eyes is not only a ceremonial office building from the early 20th century, but also a building whose lower level immediately lived through commerce, cafes, and everyday affairs. Today it houses a bank, an institute of legal history, and retail and office firms; the earlier mixed function has not disappeared from the building's logic.

What to notice right away

The main principle of observation is to compare the ceremonial symmetry with losses and later traces. The domes stand at the corners of the facade on Avenida de Mayo and define the building's axis; their red color, too, is the result of restoration history rather than an unchanged original detail. The central entrance is marked by statues of Venus and Apollo, so the decorative program is gathered not only above, but also at the point of entry.

Lower down, it is worth noticing the loggias, galleries, and columns supporting the arch: the source text links them to the building's Italian character. At the same time, the facade should be read as incomplete: the moldings around the domes, the roof battlements, and some other ornament have disappeared. Even the graffiti in the second-floor loggia have not survived as an integral finish: old traces were damaged by moisture, and the few fragments are already associated with new owners.