Parque de la Ciudad

The Parque de la Ciudad (Spanish: "City Park") is an amusement centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

History

The project was started in 1978 by the military city government of Osvaldo Cacciatore under the national military government. Cacciatore launched the bid for the construction of a theme park, which was won by the company Interama Parks S.A., a company set up for the purpose. Alberto Gourdy Allende was chosen as managing director. ["Clarín" 2 January 2001]

Interama Parks was formed for the military dictatorship that governed Argentina at that time, but also for civilian use. [ "Daily Clarin" 2 January 2001 ] Interama Parks contracted the Swiss company "Intamin AG" to supply imported attractions - mechanical games, roller coasters, facilities, accessories, shopping trolleys and machinery for making popcorn and "INTERAMA") Tower. Intamin AG is a major design company in the world

Construction began at the end of 1978. The park was located at the Park Zoofitogeografico and the Park of Amusements on the Escalade, Lacarra, Cnel, Rock and Castañares Avenues, between Belgrano South railway and the beach car parks near the Fernández of Cruz Avenue by the City Park (in front of the current Park of the City). The construction began on the City Park, which was undeveloped though smallholders were evicted.

After the removal of debris and waste, the property was used as landfill, a perimeter fence was placed around the site, and work began. One million cubic meters of earth had to be moved to level the site, and landscape it with lakes and hills, while the bases of the attractions and a road network had to be provided. Special recreation zones called "plones" were laid out. James Fowler, a leading geologist was engaged, as was Richard Battaglia of Disney World. The construction was carried out by Omar N. Vázquez, an engineer and his team.

The shipment that caught the attention of anxious neighbors were large quantities of steel beams and gigantic metallic profiles brought into the park by cranes which would form the centerpiece of the project: The Space Tower. <... What does this mean... >

It was referred to as the Space Tower even shortly after Parks Interama S.A. won the bid, and before the construction began; it was described as "a circular tower with observatory and restaurant..." (according to publication of Magazine People of the month of November 1978). In May 1980 the works began for the construction of the Space Tower.

Some roads were paved to allow construction machinery access to the foundation site. The first step of the production was to create the holes for the foundation pilings. The piles were created by the company TREVI INC at a cost of US $728,000.

TREVI INC also carries out the piles for the foundations of the following structures:
*Roller Coaster "Vertigorama" US $2,025,000
*Columns "Aerogondolas" US $78,000
*Russian mountain "Aconcagua", rail bridges of the "Train" US $ 67,000
*Pedestrian bridge of Entrance on Av. F.F. of Cruz US $ 16,000

Metal reinforcements for the concrete were placed into the 35 meter deep holes, and the holes were filled with bentonite, a clay-like mineral, to absorb groundwater. Then the concrete was piped into the holes and allowed to harden. The bentonite was displaced by the concrete, as previously it happened to the water. Approximately 10 meters below the piles, the ground is embedded with Puelchense, a layer of very hard material characteristic of Buenos Aires.

The 30 piles were cut off (with the metallic armor visible) to 8 meters (26 feet) below floor level. This area is occupied by the solid Orchestra of concrete in which the main columns of the Tower are embedded. This process took 6 months.

Construction of the metallic structure took another 6 months.

While the Tower was built, foundations for the anchorages of the tensors that would lower from the level 120 meters. These foundations were identical to the Tower, although with a smaller number of piles.

The Tower was a self-supporting structure, and did not need external supports until it reached 120 meters.

The tensor cables were attached, using a crane, to the important beam under Platform 1 and the concrete anchorages at the base of the tower.

For Christmas 1980, the incomplete structure became an improvised but gigantic Christmas tree. At night, thousands of colored lamps of colors formed illuminated garlands along the steel tensors and a giant star on the roof of platform 2 together with a poster located in one of the sides of the platform 1 in which could be read at the distance: FE

Workers at the highest parts of the tower were brought to their work site by a cage lifted by the cranes used to deliver materials.

Construction in the rest of the Park continued apace. Workers began assembling the Russian mountains and they were clever in the floor it has more than enough wooden tacos, waiting until the one numbers that they took inscriptos in their parts of it assembles it coincided with the I already number of the tract installed. Earth for the hills, now covered in turf, came from the future lakes, still simple depressions in the land. The site was being transformed from a fallow field into a colorful theme park.

The Tower became the tallest structure in Argentina Fact|date=February 2008 and it continued growing. Platforms 1 and 2 were in place, and the crane left their functions to pass him/her the post to the crane climber that would continue with the one it assembles from the 120 meters until the culmination of the Tower.

Rumor has it that there will be a revolving sweet shop as that of the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, running in fashion and recently inaugurated by that time.

The metallic walls went up slowly; although the structural supports were in place, workers had to apply and adjust the bolts one by one.

The Tower was already at 176 meters and was a structure of modern design made with the classic construction methods: profile of steel, floors and foil linings that they unite gradually for the typical fixation method of abulonado in the constructions of steel of great span.

They finished mounting the generous beams that support the floor of the Mirador and the room of you scheme, then the panels of the windows rose while in the base of the Tower a group of workers began to rivet the "skin" of the Tower. The trapezoidal plates of aluminum make the Tower visible from many points in of Buenos Aires.

The crane climber stopped to go up heavy beams of steel cincado to elevate the foil panels that they would begin to you give him the form that the designer dreamt in the drawing board.

The attractions throughout the park were in operation. The characteristic sounds of the games could be heard. The soft journey of the Russian splendid mountain "Aconcagua" was followed by the attentive view of the engineers in charge of starting the ride. The attraction Scorpion began to give its first turns and to make its first swingings in Argentine floor. Jets of water squirting from the Musical Waters fountain are startling, but the whistle of vapor of the locomotive pulling the train around the perimeter of the park is a distraction.

In each attraction there was an or but cranes that moved with caution, since the cables of Aerogondolas were spread and they were already testing the journey.

From the almost finished Tower already could it turns the scaffolds of the cinema IMax that seemed a minuscule one at the distance.

References