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This art deco building is
a place to see even if you are not interested in the 300 shops located
inside. The site began as an outdoor fair where carts of fruit and
vegetables were sold in the 1890’s. It now holds over 300 different
stores including men’s and women’s clothing, a large food court and a
children’s museum.
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Ferris Wheel at Abasto Shopping Mall |
The History of the
Building
The fresh air market was
converted into the city's first fruit and vegetable wholesale market
in 1893. It was originally designed by the Argentine architect, Vasena,
but the magnificent arches weren’t added until 1934 when it was remodeled
by engineer Mr. Delpini.
The building served as the most important Wholesale Food Market in South
America for 50 years, but its central location became a difficult commute
for delivery trucks, which had to navigate through the congested city
traffic. On October 14, 1984 the Abasto Market was shut down so the new
market could be located outside the city’s center.
The Abasto Market was abandoned until IRSA came up with a plan to turn it
into a shopping mall. The mall was inaugurated in 1999 as ‘Abasto
Shopping’.
Abasto Shopping Mall –
Today
The four story building
contains 300 different stores with everything from trendy clothing to
gourmet kitchen ware. It has a 12 theater cinema, a large food court, an
arcade, amusement park rides and a children’s museum.
The food court is made famous by holding a Kosher McDonalds, and it can
hold up to 1,200 people. It is open from 10 am to midnight on weekdays
and stays open until 2 am on weekends. It is a great place to get just
about any type of food you want.
The amusement park is quite a site to see. It includes a ferris wheel
which stretches from the third story past the fourth floor and into one of
the famous arches of the building. The arcade includes everything; traditional car racing arcade games, ski ball,
and fair like games like
throwing hoops over bottles.
The children’s museum is like a gigantic Wanna-Do City. Kids can pretend
to be grown-ups, live in a scaled down city and choose a profession. Kids
can take a ‘tram’ to their job site which may be a construction zone where
they operate a crane, a TV studio where they can act, direct or film, or a
ship which they can navigate through the pacific ocean.
The shops at the Abasto Shopping Mall are open from 10 am to 10 pm seven
days a week. |
