Wilde, Buenos Aires

Wilde, Buenos Aires

Wilde is a town in the Avellaneda Partido of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban agglomeration.

Wilde is the most populous district in Avellaneda, with 65,881 inhabitants. Originating with the estancia founded by Luis Gaitán around 1600, the settlement was the site of the first salthouse in what today is Argentina. The town was named in 1888 by Eduardo Wilde in honour of his uncle Dr. José Antonio Wilde (1813–1887), a physician who led local efforts to improve public health and obtained permits for the construction of the local hospital and sewer system. The 1885 opening of a Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway station at the site led to the establishment of Villa Jurado, the city's first subdivision, in 1889.

From the beging following a moviment of English gardens the city was developed by local architects as the residencial borough of Avellaneda. Large grounds previously utilised by the local "gauchos" for the training of horses and farming land, eventually were converted into large parks and the region became a popular area for weekend cottages for the busy city people. On the east end of Wilde, there is a large coastal area with natural sandy beach washed by the Río de la Plata, from where is possible to see on clear days the coast of Uruguay.

A particularly interesting time in the town's history was the vibrant period of the 30's to the 50's when large number of European immigrants settled in the area creating a multilingual society that gave birth to some well known bilingual schools and private colleges, such as:

• Instituto San Pablo
• Colegio San Ignacio
• Colegio San Diego
• Colegio Modelo Sara Eccleston - The British School Sara Eccleston
• Colegio Modelo John F. Kennedy - The American School John F. Kennedy

The community developed rapidly and soon it was turned into a small city while keeping the country side aspect of a green and garden like residencial borough.