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The fort
A fort on the river shore stood where the Casa Rosada stands now
The site was first occupied by the Fort of Juan Baltazar of Austria, built in 1594 on the orders of Captain Juan de Garay. A masonry replacement in 1713, the Castle of San Miguel, made it the nerve center of colonial government.
Customs House
In 1857 the fort was pulled down to make way for a customs house
In 1857 the fort was demolished in favor of a new customs building. Under the British Argentine architect Edward Taylor, the Italianate structure was the largest building in Buenos Aires from 1859 until the 1890s.
Pink
The walls were painted pink, and the reason is disputed
Domingo Sarmiento had the exterior painted pink, reportedly to defuse political tensions by mixing the red and white of the country's two opposing parties. An alternative explanation is that the original paint contained cow's blood to prevent damage from humidity.
Joined up
Two buildings were joined by an archway in 1884 and finished in 1898
In 1882 President Julio Roca commissioned Enrique Aberg to replace the cramped State House with one resembling the neighboring Central Post Office. Francesco Tamburini built the Italianate archway between the two in 1884. The State House was completed in 1898.
The museum
The old fort was dug up in 1984 and joined to a museum
A Historical Museum was created in 1957 for presidential memorabilia, such as sashes, batons, books, furniture, and three carriages. The remains of the former fort were first partially excavated in 1984 and added to the museum.
Day 1, morning
It comes after Plaza de Mayo. Then Metropolitan Cathedral.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Casa Rosada, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.