Villa Hortensia (Rosario) facts for kids
Villa Hortensia is a large, historic house in the city of Rosario, which is in the Santa Fe area of Argentina. You can find it at 1917 Warnes Street, in a part of Rosario called Barrio Alberdi.
This grand house was built way back in 1890. An architect named Boyd Walker designed it for José Nicolás Puccio, who was the person who started the Alberdi neighborhood. Over the years, the house was sold a few times. It eventually belonged to Alfredo Rouillon, who was married to María Hortensia Echesortu. The house got its name "Villa Hortensia" from her! The wealthy Rouillon family used Villa Hortensia as a summer home. They loved that it was close to the Paraná River and had big gardens with lots of shady trees.
From Grand Home to Historic Site
For a while, the house wasn't taken care of very well. But in 1989, it was officially declared a National Historic Monument. This meant it was a very important building that needed to be protected. At that time, it was in danger of falling apart.
To save it, the city of Rosario bought Villa Hortensia on May 30, 1996. Their plan was to turn it into a place where people could go to get help with city services. This was part of a bigger idea to spread out city offices, so people didn't always have to travel to the busy downtown area. Villa Hortensia was carefully fixed up, making sure to use the original plans and materials. It opened its doors again on October 13, 1997, as the very first Municipal District Center in Rosario.
Helping the Community
Today, Villa Hortensia is a busy place that helps people in the North District of Rosario. It has an office where citizens can get help with different things. There's also a branch of the Municipal Bank of Rosario inside. You can find offices for the water, natural gas, and electricity companies too. This means people living nearby can pay their bills or ask questions about these services without going far from home.
The mansion even has a special office for marriage ceremonies! Before Villa Hortensia opened, people often had to travel about 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) to the main city offices downtown. This could be a 40-minute bus ride! Now, thanks to Villa Hortensia, that distance has shrunk to only about 1.5 kilometers (less than a mile). Most people in the area think the service they get at Villa Hortensia is much better than what they used to get downtown.
See also
- Districts of Rosario, to learn more about how Rosario organized its city services.
- In Spanish: Villa Hortensia (Rosario) for kids
