It is now a reality: the Obelisco houses the long-awaited elevator designed from its conception by Tucumán architect Alberto Prebisch. The mayor of Buenos Aires at the time, Mariano de Vedia y Mitre, expressed the following to Interior Minister Ramón Castillo in a 1936 letter: “There is a plan to provide it with an internal elevator that will allow the public access to the top of the monument.”
In 2022, the Horacio Rodríguez Larreta administration launched a call for bids. However, the initiative was not taken until September 2024, when construction began. Finally, 89 years later, the elevator, inaugurated on July 18, allows one to comfortably climb the 67.5 m height to enjoy the best view of the city, thanks to its strategic location, as stated by the President of the Government, Jorge Macri, on the opening day.
Very few dared to climb, wearing a helmet and harness, the 206 steps of the straight iron staircase that traversed the darkness of that long vertical tunnel to reach the summit, after about 16 minutes, depending on the climber’s physical condition.
Now, with the elevator, surrounded by a spiral staircase, one can reach it in just one minute. The glass cabin on one side allows one to see, thanks to LED lighting, the original wall of our symbol of Buenos Aires.
The new interior structure of the Obelisco was manufactured in a workshop in Laferrere, and due to the limited space available for maneuvering, everything had to be disassembled and reassembled inside.
The Elevator
Ascensores Servas S.A. installed a machine-room-less elevator with a gearless motor. To install it, a reticular frame was designed, fixed to the sidewalls, and placed on a base. The guides, cabin, doors, and motor were then mounted on this base. Meanwhile, the elevator arrived disassembled and had to be assembled inside. The Obelisco’s door is very small, but due to the requirement not to modify the exterior façade, this was the only way to complete the installation.
The elevator is calibrated to travel at 60 meters per minute, although it can reach higher speeds. The cabin can carry a payload of 300 kilos or four people and has panoramic views from both doors and two sides. It is programmed to stop only on the ground floor and at the top, but it is designed to have six other stops that can be used in emergency situations, as is the surrounding staircase.
The elevator goes up to 55 meters, and then you have to climb 35 more steps via a spiral staircase that leads to the dome.
VISITS
The Obelisco elevator is open to the public, with Andesmar managing the observation deck since July 2025. You can reserve a spot to experience panoramic views of the city of Buenos Aires from the top of the monument.
“The observation deck will give us the opportunity to offer visitors an experience that goes beyond the typical photo with the monument. Thanks to our collaboration with the private sector, tourists will have access to an unparalleled panoramic view,” said Valentín Díaz Gilligan, President of the Buenos Aires City Tourism Board.
INSET
The Obelisco was designed by architect Alberto Prebisch to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of Buenos Aires.
The monument’s construction, which began in 1935 and was completed in 1936, cost 200,000 pesos. The project was carried out by the German company G.E.O.P.E.-Siemens Bauunion-Grün & Bilfinger and was erected in 31 days by 157 workers.
“On the site where the Obelisco stands today, the San Nicolás de Bari Church stood, but it was decided to demolish it to make way for the construction of 9 de Julio Avenue. The Argentine flag was officially raised from the tower of that church for the first time in Buenos Aires in 1812. This event is commemorated in one of the inscriptions on the north side of the Obelisco.
On Saturday, May 23, 1936, the day of its inauguration, the mayor of the city, Mariano de Vedia y Mitre, said: “This Obelisco will be, over the years, the most authentic document of this glorious event of the fourth centenary of the city founded by Don Pedro de Mendoza.” Within the classic lines on which it stands, it is like a materialization of the soul of Buenos Aires, reaching out to the heights, rising above itself to reveal itself to other peoples and, from here, proclaiming its solidarity with them.
At the time of its inauguration, the press criticized it as a “useless contraption,” and popular sayings were even dedicated to it, such as “In the middle of the street/ there is a standing mass/ they call it the Obelisco/ and it’s useless.”
However, imagining the so-called “center” without it today would be impossible and even distressing.
N.K.
