| Across the street opposite Retiro train terminal is in the leafy Plaza San Martín surrounded by great palaces and hotels. The Retiro lowlands were once the training grounds for José de San Martín's Granaderos corps, the modern-day Plaza San Martín features a statue of the independence hero on horseback, as well as the memorial for the dead in the 1982 Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas). Within the park is Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina (Argentine Air Force Square) where the Torre de los Ingleses (British Tower) is located, a monument donated by the Anglo-Argentine community for the 1910 centenary celebrations, it features a relief of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom at its bottom. This monument has been the object of several acts of sabotage in the wake of the aforementioned conflict. The park was previously named Plaza Británica (English park) but was renamed Plaza Fuerza Aérea Argentina in 1982, nevertheless, most Argentines still refer to it as the Plaza Británica. One building that stands out in the retiro area is the the Kavanagh facing Plaza San Martín, this historic structure by the time it was finished was the tallest building in Latin America with 120 meters build entirely of concrete, in 1939 its façade was awarded by the American Institute of architects. The northern end of the park is where pedestrianised Florida Street begins. Nearby is the Basilica Santísimo Sacramento and the Israeli Embassy, regrettably bombed on 17th March, 1992 with a toll of 29 casualties and 242 wounded wich marked the arrival, for the first time, of Middle Eastern terrorism |
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