La Casa de los Gatos

La Casa de los Gatos, Boulevard Espana and Juan Paullier

I have mentioned this house in two previous blog posts, but I vow that this will definitely be the last time.  The house no longer exists.   Once the home of Geronimo Ithurralde, a prominent Montevideo merchant, the mansion located at 2232 Bulevar Espana was demolished earlier this week.  In the early 1900s, Ithurralde designed his grand residence incorporating elements from a favourite castle in Segovia, Spain.   He lived here with his wife, seven sons and one daughter.   In her old age daughter Thula,  the last surviving family member, remained in the house and sheltered more than 20 stray cats.  The reclusive woman kept to herself, looked after her feline companions and died alone - Thula's decomposed body was discovered by police in an upstairs bedroom.   Legend has it that her ghost frequented the watchtower at night.

Demolition begins at the top, with the cupola

Oak staircase is removed

Urns at the entrance

Fine ironwork

Salvaging bits and pieces

Fig leaf decoration

Layers of history

Interior

Tile detail

Reduced to rubble

The cat lady's watchtower disappears

Sledgehammer assault

Bulldozer removes the remains

A hole in the streetscape, soon to be filled with an apartment tower

Here is a video of the demolition in progress, the only press coverage that I could find.

On the street

Postscript 5/8/2011:  Today's edition of " El Pais" section B has an article about the house in which architect Mariano Arana mourns the loss of the building, and describes the demolition as "incomprehensible."   Too little, too late, I'm afraid! 

Ghosts

The graffiti came first, claiming the presence of a ghost.  It's an urban legend that the vacant house on Boulevard Espana is haunted, but the sight of a spectral figure glowing in an upstairs window could hardly be more disturbing than the sign that appeared one morning on the fence.  

Doomed

Demolition company sign

A developer has purchased the property and will soon start demolition to make way for yet another high-rise apartment building.

I am appalled to see the full-scale transformation of Montevideo taking place rapidly, without protest, as irreplaceable built heritage is reduced to rubble overnight.  The newspaper El Pais reports that the construction boom is happening so fast and furiously, that developers are going ahead with projects without waiting for the proper municipal permits to be issued.  The fines for non-compliance are less than fees for permits, and can be paid after the fact, when the building is already in place.  If a newly-constructed apartment building happens to be five storeys higher than the limit - no problem - a cash payment to the authorities will suffice.

As for a heritage registry, I am informed that there is an inventory of valued buildings in the city, but that it has absolutely no effect in preventing demolition.  If the proposed construction project is backed by a sufficient amount of money, then anything is possible.

Doomed

This house around the corner on 21 de Setiembre is another ghost.  It was recently sold by the owner to a developer for a very large sum, and is destined to be replaced with an apartment tower.

Changing streetscape in Parque Rodo 

What to expect - an uninspired, ugly new tower  right next door

Gaps like this are common in Montevideo's older neighbourhoods

Remains of a once elegant interior

Is this one next?  

Or this one?

Then this one?

Or this one?

The ghosts will disappear, but Montevideans will be forever haunted by what they have lost; the fabric of a beautiful city full of history, character and charm.  Progress?  I think not.

“Historic buildings are a proud and significant part of our, and every, nation’s heritage. They are an irreplaceable element of the collective memory of local communities…They contribute both to our sense of identity and to that regional distinctiveness which is so valuable and so vulnerable.” 
                                                                                        - Stevens, J, Sir. (past) Chairman English Heritage.

Old Stones and Cellulose

With the height of the tourist season now finished and the fall weather still sunny and pleasant, we decide to take a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, located 177 kilometers northwest of Montevideo   The bus ride takes two and a half hours, following a route that passes through a factory zone in the industrial east end of the city and gradually becomes scenic as green hills dotted with dairy farms replace billowing smokestacks.

Porton de Campo, the gate to the old town, built in 1745

At noon we arrive in Colonia del Sacramento, the oldest city in Uruguay, settled in 1680 by the Portugese governor of Rio de Janeiro, Manuel Lobo. For the early inhabitants, this area represented a strategic bit of coastline on the Rio de la Plata, located near the mouth of the Parana River and directly opposite the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.  Prosperous Colonia, an active port and center of contraband trading, changed hands many times in the course of history, in military disputes between the Portugese and Spanish. The Spanish eventually succeeding in making claim to the area following a siege in 1777.

Today, the Barrio Historico is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Once you cross the wooden drawbridge and go through the massive stone Porton de Campo, the rough cobblestone streets lead to a central plaza surrounded by a living architectural museum that's often compared to old Lisbon.

Cobblestone street next to the ramparts lead to the waterfront

Early Portugese colonial house on Calle de los Suspiros

Patina on a stucco wall

Ruins of the 17th c. convent of San Francisco, and the lighthouse, completed in 1857

View of Rio de la Plata from Colonia

Fishing on the rocky shore

We visit several museums in Colonia - the Portugese Museum, the Tile Museum, the Indigenous Museum - all within walking distance of the Plaza Mayor.  The collections are small with precious groupings of ceramics, weaponry, furniture and maps displayed in buildings that were once private houses.   Wandering around the old town, we find a sharp contrast between Montevideo streets (dirty, noisy, full of traffic and graffiti) and those in Colonia del Sacramento (clean, quiet, well-maintained, pedestrian-friendly.)  

At the top of De Portugal, the Basilica de Sanctisimo  Sacramento, 1808

The church interior - stark white, undecorated

Virgen de Treinte y Tres displayed inside the church

Just opposite the old church, we stop at a restaurant  that has tables set out on the sidewalk.  With roasted chicken and green salad, we enjoy a glass of G Sauvignon Gris, a wine from Casa Filgueira bodega.  

Uruguayan Sauvignon Gris - a crisp patio wine 

Waiter at the Viejo Barrio restaurant

Ceramics in an antique shop

1717 Fine Arts Cafe features black and white photography

The beautiful terrace and courtyard at 1717 provide a relaxing spot for ...

espresso coffee!

Typical streetscape in Colonia, with stone construction

 On the way back to Montevideo, we notice that almost every farm in the area surrounding Colonia is marked with a "For Sale" sign.   A friend who owns a small apple farm offers an explanation as to what is happening in rural communities.   The government approval of a cellulose plant, a project funded by a conglomerate of Chilean, Finnish and Swedish companies operating as Montes del Plata de Uruguay, has caused the sudden glut of farms offered for sale.  At 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, this is the largest foreign investment that the country has ever seen. The plant and industrial port will be located at Punta Pereira near Conchillas, within a free trade zone on the bank of Rio de la Plata, just north of Colonia del Sacramento.  To provide enough trees for continuous production of pulp and paper, Montes del Plata is intent on acquiring property for planting forests - in fact, they already own 250,000 hectares of land in Uruguay!  And they're not alone: UPM-Kymmene from Finland owns 225,000 hectares, and the U.S. company Weyerhauser owns 140,000 hectares.    The large-scale foreign ownership of prime land will mean that smaller food producers are squeezed out of operation, just like our apple orchard friend, who is seriously considering a forestry company's attractive offer to purchase.  Goodbye to his annual harvest of Granny Smith, hello to fast-growing eucalyptus and pine.

Ad running in the national newspaper, "El Pais"

One hopes that the heritage sites in Uruguay will be preserved, with each stone intact for future generations to appreciate.  One hopes that industrial growth will not destroy the sustainable, small-scale farms that feed the population. One hopes that the environment will remain pristine, that water resources will be protected, that soil quality will be maintained, that the air will stay clean.  One hopes that Uruguay, with its rich human history and natural resources, will remain distinctly Uruguayan.

Piria - Utopian pioneer

Francisco Piria

There are characters in history whose gifts of intelligence, tenacity, vision and timing work together to produce a life blessed with good fortune.  Francisco Piria, born in Montevideo in 1847 to Italian parents, was one of those determined and lucky men.  Educated in Genoa by an uncle who was a Jesuit monk, Piria acquired a lifelong interest in ancient mysticism and alchemy along with a strict Christian upbringing.

He returned to Uruguay after completing his studies and found employment with an auction house in the Old City Market, selling clocks, watches, overcoats and boots.  When the market was destroyed by fire in 1870, Piria decided to re-establish himself as a real estate auctioneer.  His business grew and prospered as Piria bought and sold land for upscale neighbourhoods in Montevideo, Rosario and Buenos Aires.


In 1890 Piria acquired 2700 parcels of land in an undeveloped coastal region 100 kilometers east of the city of Montevideo.  His trips to the French Riviera had convinced him that this location, with its white sand beaches, granite hills and virgin forests had the potential to become a successful seaside resort town.  The site also had metaphysical qualities that appealed to him, falling in line with harmonious magnetic forces that he claimed existed in a triangular connection with Salto, Uruguay and Cordoba, Argentina. It was an excellent area for positive energy and healthy living.

Castillo Piria

 Piria wasted no time in getting an infrastructure in place for his proposed settlement.  He built a seven mile long boardwalk along the beachfront, a port and a railway. Workers were hired for mining granite and planting a vineyard. Piria financed the construction of a church, a bank, a bodega and a hotel.    The layout for the town he named "Piriapolis" incorporated geometric principles of alchemy, with significant points in the terrain marked by sculptures and fountains.   By 1897 the construction of  his own grand residence at the top of a hill overlooking the town was completed.   The house was also situated in a strategic spot, surrounded by granite cliffs, with a view of Piria's empire,  the nascent town nestled between Punta Fria and Playa Grande.  The railway was conveniently located just steps from his own back door.

Castillo grounds, with statuary and exotic trees

We visited Piriapolis and toured the Castillo, to see how pioneer Piria lived and to experience firsthand the mystical environment which inspired him to take on the challenging project of building his own Utopian community.  The castle was designed by Piria as a replica of an Italianate villa.  The park-like grounds are full of exotic trees which he imported from Spain and Italy.

Dining hall, with Limoges dinner service

The interior of the castle has high ceilings, dark woodwork, tiled floors and medieval style furnishings. The museum guide took us upstairs to tour the private living quarters of the Piria family and admire the stunning landscape from the walk-out terrace.  It seemed as if the view from each window of the house had been carefully planned to frame basic elements of nature - rocks, water and woods.

Interior view with chapel

The Castillo's atmosphere is contemplative and soothing, and one can imagine Piria seated at his desk working on his writing, (articles to be published in his own newspaper "La Tribuna") looking up from his manuscript now and then to enjoy the magnificent vista of the "Pan de Azucar". A flock of parakeets chattering in the garden's lush palm trees reminded us that the secret codes of alchemy, Kabbalah and Renaissance magic were known as "the language of the birds."

Argentino Hotel 

The aging but ever-ambitious Francisco Piria embarked on the construction of an impressive resort hotel in Piriapolis in 1920.  The Argentino Hotel took ten years to build and boasted that its facilites were the most sumptuous in South America when it opened.  Piria promoted the resort as a healthy vacation destination with an excellent climate, and did not hesitate to mention that visitors should consider investing in a piece of land in Piriapolis.   That opportunity is still available in 2011, with lots in subdivisions on Cerro San Antonio and Pan de Azucar being sold by real estate developers.

Lobby of the Argentino Hotel

 The hotel is still operating today, with 300 guest rooms, health spa, casino, banquet and convention facilities centrally located on the Rambla de los Argentinos overlooking the Playa Piriapolis.  The original details of the interior have been preserved, retaining the charm of the 1930s.

A monument to Francisco Piria stands next to the hotel

Piria died in 1933 at the age of 86, but local legend tells us that he simply disappeared and his body was never found.  A large cross was erected in honour of Piria at the top of the Pan de Azucar hill.   Some believe that Piria found the philosopher's stone and achieved immortality.  Others believe that the place called Piriapolis - the lasting legacy of a man who was a remarkable blend of visionary, eccentric, pioneer, entrepreneur, and socialist - is magic itself.

The boardwalk, Piriapolis