Libertad Palace Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Krchner Cultural Centre
Centro Cultural Kirchner

The building in July 2015, featuring its new glass dome
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Government
Location	Sarmiento 151 Buenos Aires
Coordinates	34°36′12″S 58°22′10″W / 34.60333°S 58.36944°W / -34.60333; -58.36944
Construction started	1908
Completed	1928
Opening	1928; 97 years ago (1928)
Height
Roof	60 m (200 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	8
Floor area	88,050 m² (947,800 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Norbert Maillart
Developer	Government of Argentina
Main contractor	GEOPÉ

The Kirchner Cultural Centre (in Spanish, Centro Cultural Kirchner) is a huge building in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's one of the biggest cultural centers in the world! In fact, it's the largest in Latin America.

This amazing building first opened in 1928. Back then, it was the main post office for Buenos Aires, called the "Palacio de Correos" (Post Office Palace). It worked as a post office until 2002. After that, it was completely renovated and reopened in 2015 as a cultural center.

The center was named after Néstor Kirchner, a former president of Argentina, who started the project to turn it into a cultural hub. However, its name has caused some debate in Argentina. In March 2024, the government announced that the name would be changed again.

The Kirchner Cultural Centre has nine floors filled with exciting spaces. There's a large concert hall, plus five other auditoriums for plays and concerts. You can also find 18 halls for poetry readings and other events. On six floors, there are 40 rooms with art and history exhibits, covering a huge area of 15,000 square meters. The building also has 16 rehearsal rooms and two rooftop terraces with great views.

It's easy to get to the center using the city's subway. You can take Line B to Leandro N. Alem station or Line E to Correo Central station.

History of the Building
Images for kids
See also

History of the Building

From Post Office to Cultural Hub

The idea for a new main post office in Buenos Aires came up in 1888. The head of the Argentine Postal Service, Dr. Ramón J. Cárcano, suggested it. Soon after, a law was passed to build it. A French architect named Norbert Maillart was chosen to design the building in 1889.

The post office under construction (around 1920)

The government picked a large city block for the building. This area was special because it was on land that had been reclaimed from the Río de la Plata river just a decade earlier. But then, a financial crisis hit Argentina in 1890, and the project had to be stopped.

The plans for the post office were brought back in 1905. In 1908, Maillart returned to Buenos Aires with new, bigger plans, which were approved. However, Maillart and the Argentine government had some disagreements, and he left the project in 1911. Construction had just begun, so Maillart's main assistant, Jacques Spolsky, took over. Spolsky changed the design to use strong steel-reinforced concrete, making the building very sturdy.

More delays happened because of World War I, which affected the city's budget. A planned elevated walkway was canceled, and a new floor was added to the building's entrance. Even with these changes, the project faced many delays and went over budget. Finally, on September 28, 1928, the new "Secretaría de Comunicaciones" (Communications Secretariat) building was officially opened.

The building's design mixes different styles, especially French architecture. This style was popular for public buildings in Buenos Aires in the early 1900s. The building was the largest public building built in Argentina at that time. It had eight stories and was 60 meters (200 feet) tall, with over 88,000 square meters (948,000 square feet) of space inside. The main hall was decorated with beautiful marble, stained glass windows, and bronze sculptures. It also had a stunning four-story-high domed ceiling.

Changes Over the Years

Because the building was so grand, President Juan Perón moved his offices there in the 1940s. His wife, Eva Perón, also set up the first headquarters for her charity, the Eva Perón Foundation, in one of the wings.

Later, the plaza in front of the post office was turned into a parking lot. In the 1970s, there were plans to sell the parking lot to build a bank, but people protested, and the plans were stopped. Instead, an underground parking lot was built, and the area above became a park in 1983.

In 1997, the building was declared a National Historic Monument. Most of its postal services had already moved to a newer building. By 2005, the last postal office inside was closed.

Becoming a Cultural Centre

The building under construction and restoration in 2012

In June 2005, President Néstor Kirchner suggested turning the old, empty building into a cultural center. Two years later, plans were approved to build two concert halls and an exhibition gallery. The winning design was created by a team of architects led by Enrique, Federico, and Nicolás Bares.

The new center was supposed to open on May 25, 2010, for Argentina's Bicentennial (200th anniversary). However, its completion was delayed. In 2012, its name was changed to "Centro Cultural del Bicentenario Presidente Dr. Néstor Carlos Kirchner" to honor the late former president. When it finally opened in May 2015, it was given the shorter name, "Centro Cultural Kirchner."

The Cultural Center in its setting between Buenos Aires Central Business District and Puerto Madero

When the architects added new parts to the building, they used modern materials like clear glass, frosted glass, and stainless steel. This was done on purpose so that you could still see the beautiful original design of the old building. The main concert hall, called La Sala Sinfonica (originally known as La Ballena Azul, or "The Blue Whale"), can seat 1,950 people. It looks like a blimp and floats in the area where packages used to be sorted. It has a huge pipe organ with about eight thousand pipes! Other important places in the center include the Sala Federal for music, and La Cúpula and Sala Argentina for live theater.

After President Mauricio Macri took office, the center became part of the Federal System of Media and Public Contents. They started calling the center simply "CCK" and removed a display that honored Néstor Kirchner. The Macri government wanted to change the name back to "Bicentennial Cultural Centre." In October 2016, a proposal was made to stop the government from naming buildings after presidents who had not been gone for at least 20 years.

The Argentine National Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1948 but didn't have a permanent home for 67 years, now performs regularly at the Kirchner Centre.

Up to 10,000 people visit the Kirchner Centre every day. All events and venues are currently free. This is because the Culture Ministry believes that art should be available to everyone. As former Minister of Culture Teresa Parodi said, "We consider culture to be a right." In November 2017, then-President Mauricio Macri officially took over the G20 presidency during a ceremony at the Kirchner Cultural Centre. This was the first time this happened in South America.

In March 2024, the government of Javier Milei announced that the CCK would change its name. Two months later, they said the building would be renamed "Palacio Libertad" (Liberty Palace). This name was chosen because it was not linked to any specific political ideas.