Bosch Palace Explained

Bosch Palace
Native Name:Palacio Bosch
Native Name Lang:es
Coordinates:-34.5742°N -58.4189°W
Architectural Style:French Neoclassical
Location:Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Address:Avenida del Libertador
Location Country:Argentina
Current Tenants:United States Ambassador to Argentina
Completion Date:1917
Architect:René Sergent
Other Designers:André Carlhian (interior designer), Achille Duchêne and Charles Thays (landscape designers)
Client:Elisa and Ernesto Bosch
Owner:U.S. State Department

The Bosch Palace is an architecturally significant residence in the Palermo section of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Overview

The French Neoclassical mansion was commissioned by Elisa and Ernesto Bosch in 1910. Bosch had returned to Argentina following a tenure of six years as Argentine Ambassador to France, and the couple, both born to wealthy landowners, wished to evoke their years in Paris. They commissioned French architect René Sergent to design a mansion in what was then near the northern end of Alvear Avenue, and, following his resignation as Foreign Minister in 1914, he devoted more time to the project with his wife, contracting the Parisian interior designer André Carlhian, and landscape designers Achille Duchêne and Charles Thays.[1] [2]

Completed in 1917, the Bosch Palace became of interest to U.S. Ambassador Robert Woods Bliss during a reception there in his honor. History has it that the ambassador offered Bosch to buy the mansion and Bosch, not interested to sell it, gave a ridiculously high price. A few days later, the ambassador returned with a positive answer from his government and Bosch felt obliged to accept. In 1929, the building was sold by the Bosch family to the U.S. State Department for use as the Embassy and residence of the United States Ambassador to Argentina for around US$3 million.[1] The mansion, situated on what today is Avenida del Libertador and overlooking Parque Tres de Febrero, became of sole use as the ambassadorial residence after the 1969 completion of the present U.S. Embassy, an architecturally spare building located within walking distance of the Bosch Palace.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.clarin.com/suplementos/zona/2004/07/04/z-03501.htm Clarín: El besamanos del Día de la Independencia en el Palacio Bosch
  2. https://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/66242.pdf U.S. State Department: The Secretary of State's Register of Culturally Significant Property