La Plata 396249 225395731 2008-07-13T13:30:30Z 75.82.22.106 {{otherplaces2|La Plata}} {{Infobox Settlement |official_name = {{PAGENAME}} |image_skyline = Catedral-La Plata-1.jpg |imagesize = 140px |image_caption = ''La Plata Cathedral''. |image_shield = Escudo-LP.gif |pushpin_label_position = bottom |pushpin_map1 = Buenos Aires Province |pushpin_label_position1 = bottom |pushpin_map_caption1 = Location in [[Buenos Aires Province]] |pushpin_mapsize1 = 200 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{ARG}} |subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Argentina|Province]] |subdivision_name1 = [[Image:Bandera Buenos Aires.svg|border|24px]] [[Buenos Aires Province|Buenos Aires]] |subdivision_type2 = [[Partido]] |subdivision_name2 = [[La Plata Partido|La Plata]] |leader_name = [[Pablo Bruera]] |established_title = Founded |established_date = [[19 November]] [[1882]] |population_as_of = {{census-ar|2001}} |population_total = 690,616 |population_density_km2 = |latd=34 |latm=55 |longd=57 |longm=56 |latNS=S|longEW=W |elevation_m = 26 |postal_code_type = [[Argentine postal code|CPA Base]] |postal_code = [[ISO 3166-2:AR|B]] 1900 |area_code = +[[Telephone numbers in Argentina|54]] 221 |website = }} '''La Plata''' is the capital city of the [[Provinces of Argentina|province]] of [[Buenos Aires Province|Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]], as well as of the [[departments of Argentina|partido]] of [[La Plata Partido|La Plata]]. The city was planned to serve as the capital of the province after the city of [[Buenos Aires]] was declared as the federal district in [[1880]]. Per the {{census-ar|2001}}, the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its [[metropolitan area]] has 694,253 inhabitants. [[Image:Pasaje_Dardo_Rocha-La_Plata-1.jpg|thumb|240px|left|''Pasaje Dardo Rocha'' Building, named in honor of the city's founder.]] La Plata was officially founded by governor [[Dardo Rocha]] on [[November 19]] [[1882]] and its construction was fully documented in photographs by Tomás Bradley Sutton.<ref>[http://www.laplatamagica.com.ar/curi1882tercepar.htm Thomas Bradley: The photographer of Dardo Rocha (in Spanish)]</ref> Its current mayor is [[Pablo Bruera]]. It was referred to as [[Eva Perón|Eva Perón City]] ("Ciudad Eva Perón") between 1952 and 1955. ==History and brief description== [[Image:City Hall in La Plata.jpg|thumb|left|180px|City Hall in La Plata.]] [[Image:DardoRocha.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Governor Dardo Rocha (1838-1921), founder of La Plata.]] [[Image:Buenos Aires - La Plata1.jpg|thumb|left|180px|[[Cathedral of La Plata]]]] Rocha decided to erect a new city to host the provincial government institutions and the planned [[university]]. Urban planner [[Pedro Benoit]] designed a city layout based on a [[rationalism|rationalist]] [[urban planning|conception of urban centers]]. The city (see figure) has the shape of a square with a central park and two main diagonal avenues, north-south and east-west. (In addition, there are numerous other shorter diagonals.) This design is copied in a [[fractals|self-similar manner]] in small blocks of six by six blocks in length. Every six blocks, one finds a small park or square. Other than the diagonals, all streets are on a rectangular grid, and are numbered consecutively. Thus, La Plata is nicknamed "la ciudad de las diagonales" ("city of diagonals"). It is also called "la ciudad de los tilos" ("city of [[tilia]] ([[linden tree]])") because of the large number of linden trees lining many streets and squares. The city design and its buildings are said to possess a strong [[Freemason]] symbolism. This is said to be a consequence of both Rocha and Benoit being Freemasons. [[Image:PA280461.JPG|thumb|260px|Panoramic view of La Plata.]] The designs for the government buildings were chosen in an international architectural competition. Thus, the Governor Palace was designed by [[Italy|Italians]], City Hall by [[Germany|Germans]], etc. Electric street lighting was installed in 1884, and was the first of its kind in Latin America. The [[cathedral of La Plata]], in neo-Gothic style, is the largest church in Argentina. The [[Curutchet House]] is one of the two buildings by [[Le Corbusier]] in the Americas. The [[Teatro Argentino de La Plata]] is the second most-important [[opera house]] in Argentina after the [[Teatro Colon]] in [[Buenos Aires]]. The [[Universidad Nacional de La Plata|La Plata University]] was founded in 1897 and nationalized in 1905. It is well-known for its [[La Plata Astronomical Observatory|observatory]] and [[paleontology]] museum. [[Ernesto Sabato]] graduated in physics; he went on to teach at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] and the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] before becoming a famed novelist. Doctor [[René Favaloro]] was another famous alumnus. During its early years, it attracted a number of renowned intellectuals from the Spanish-speaking world, such as [[Dominican Republic|Dominican]] [[Pedro Henriquez Ureña]]. The city was renamed in [[1952]] as [[Eva Perón]]; the original name was restored in [[1955]]. The city is home to two [[football (soccer)]] teams that play in the [[Primera División Argentina|first division]]: [[Estudiantes de La Plata]] and [[Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata]]. [[Image:La_Plata_-_Estaci%C3%B3n_del_Ferrocarril_Roca.jpg|thumb|260px|Railway station, La Plata.]] ==Climate== Usually warm and humid in the summer. Mild winters.<br> Average temperature: 16.3° C<br> Average clear days: 126 Rain: 1023 Mn<br> Average humidity: 78% ==People== [[Image:Museo_de_La_Plata_2.jpg|thumb|260px|Museum of Natural History.]] See {{cl|People from La Plata}} ==Sister Cities== * {{flagicon|Israel}} [[Beersheba]], [[Israel]] * {{flagicon|United States}} [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]], [[USA]] * {{flagicon|Uruguay}} [[Montevideo]], [[Uruguay]] * {{flagicon|UK}} [[Liverpool]], [[England]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== *{{es icon}} [http://www.laplata.gov.ar Official government website] *{{es icon}} http://www.mapa.laplata.gov.ar Interactive Map of La Plata *{{es icon}} {{ar-mi-muni|BUE066}} {{Provincial capitals of Argentina}} {{Turismo Carretera}} [[Category:1882 establishments]] [[Category:Capitals of Argentine provinces]] [[Category:Cities in Buenos Aires Province]] [[Category:Settlements in Buenos Aires Province]] [[Category:La Plata]] [[Category:Planned communities]] [[Category:Urban planning in Argentina]] [[Category:Planned cities]] [[Category:Settlements established in 1882]] [[af:La Plata]] [[ar:لابلاتا]] [[bn:লা প্লাতা]] [[bg:Ла Плата (град)]] [[ca:La Plata]] [[da:La Plata]] [[de:La Plata (Stadt)]] [[et:La Plata]] [[es:La Plata]] [[eo:La Plata]] [[eu:La Plata]] [[fr:La Plata]] [[io:La Plata]] [[id:La Plata]] [[it:La Plata]] [[lt:La Plata (Argentinos miestas)]] [[lij:La Plata (Argentinn-a)]] [[nl:La Plata (Buenos Aires)]] [[ja:ラプラタ (アルゼンチン)]] [[no:La Plata]] [[oc:La Plata]] [[pl:La Plata (miasto)]] [[pt:La Plata]] [[ro:La Plata]] [[ru:Ла-Плата (город)]] [[simple:La Plata]] [[sk:La Plata (mesto)]] [[sl:La Plata]] [[sv:La Plata]] [[tr:La Plata]] [[vec:La Plata]] [[vo:La Plata]] [[bat-smg:La Plata]] [[zh:拉普拉塔]]