Casa Rosada
The Casa Rosada ("Pink House") is the official seat of the executive branch of the Argentine government.
The Casa Rosada sits at the eastern end of the Plaza de Mayo, a large square which since the 1580 foundation of Buenos Aires has been surrounded by many of the most important political institutions of the city and of Argentina. The site, originally at the waterline of the Río de la Plata, was first occupied by the "Fort of Juan Baltazar of Austria," a structure built on the orders of the founder of Buenos Aires, Captain Juan de Garay, in 1594. Its 1713 replacement by a masonry structure (the "Castle of San Miguel") complete with turrets made the spot the effective nerve center of colonial government.
Following independence, President Bernardino Rivadavia had a Neoclassical portico built at the entrance in 1825, and the building remained unchanged until, in 1857, President Justo José de Urquiza ordered the fort demolished in favor of a new customs building, built under the direction of British Argentine architect Edward Taylor. The Italianate structure was Buenos Aires' largest building from 1859 until the 1890s.
Read more about this topic: Landmarks In Buenos Aires, Official Buildings