Popular Street Museum

Located on Av. Las Heras between 25 de Mayo and Perú streets
Municipal Cultural Secretariat Tel. No.: 0261-4495100
Open everyday in the street.

This unique museum has glass exhibition cases set up on the sidewalk of Las Heras Avenue, on the even side of the 600 block. The panels recreate life on this street. In its beginnings, it was decidedly colonial. Between 1907 and 1909, it acquired the characteristics of a European boulevard lined with an abundance of palm trees. Early in the 20th century, cobblestones were replaced by paving, and horse-draw carriages by motorcars. This avenue was the cultural center of Mendoza and encompassed poetry, plastic arts, dancing and theatrical representations. Located on this street are the "María Auxiliadora" School, the Basilica of St. Francis, the "San Buenaventura" Academy of Fine Arts and, until not long ago, the School of Philosophy and Letters and Dramatic Art. The first shop set up on this street was a tailor's shop followed by cafeterias, milking sheds, inns, cutlers' shops and the first transportation companies. The first immigrants that arrived between 1885 and 1903 turned the area surrounding the railroad station into tenement houses. Clark Gable walked down this street and Cantinflas relished on chocolate milk and "churros" (a long, slender, deep-fried pastry resembling a cruller) in the Public Market.

Mendoza
The city of Mendoza is the capital of the Province of Mendoza and lies 747 m. above sea level and 1,099 km. away from the city of Buenos Aires along national route No.7. Mendoza was founded by Pedro del Castillo in 1561 but was destroyed by an earthquake on 20 March, 1861. The city lies at the foot of the mountain range flanking the Andes and has over 800,000 inhabitants. It is a neat modern city with a large number of drainage ditches and green areas. Its streets witnessed the exploits of our national hero San Martín during his campaigns to liberate Argentina, Chile and Peru. The province is the main wine producing center in America endowed with wonderful environmental conditions for the production of wine. Amongst the sites worth visiting are the Basilica of St. Francis that harbors numerous documents related to San Martín's campaign; the ruins of the Temple of St. Francis; the Government House that preserves the flag of the Andes Army, the Arts and Crafts Market, the Alameda (public walk lined with poplar trees), the "Mirador" (natural scenic viewpoint) terrace, the Civic Center and the San Martín Park.