Parque de la Ciudad
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The Parque de la Ciudad (Spanish: "City Park") is an amusement centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
[edit] 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. [1]
Interama Parks was formed for the military dictatorship that governed Argentina at that time, but also for civilian use. [2] 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 nowadays 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.
But the shipment that got the attention to the anxious neighbors to have their "small Disney finished World" it was formed by incredible quantities of steel beams and metallic profiles of not less incredible dimensions, those that high but it takes for the cranes that were taken also to the future dismantled Park, they would form the mythical and unmistakable symbol of the stateliness of the project: The Space Tower. <... What does this mean... >
For the time in that newly finished awarding the bid to Parks Interama S.A. it was already spoken of the Space Tower, although their name was not even known, the construction project was known of"... 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 already paved to facilitate the access of the necessary machineries to begin with the foundation (foundations). The first scheme used (without having diggers and mechanical shovels) it was a pilotera which took charge of carrying out the perforations for the formation of the piles in situ. The piles were carried out by the company TREVI INC with 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
Once made the perforations 35 meters (114 feet) deep, the metallic armors were introduced that they would reinforce the concrete, and they were filled with bentonite, a clay-like mineral that used to absorb groundwater. Once the perforation was filled with bentonite, the concrete that would form the pile was pumped in by pipe. As the concrete level grew, the bentonite was displaced, as previously it happened to the water. When the concrete reaches the highest level, it needed time to solidify. Approximately 10 meters below the piles, the ground is embedded with Puelchense, a layer of very hard material characteristic of Buenos Aires.
The procedure of having filled repeated 30 times, since this it is the quantity of piles that they form the foundation of the Space Tower. Once concluded the 30 piles, these they were cut off (with the metallic armor visible) to a depth 8 meters (26 feet) of the level of the floor. This serious depth occupied by the solid Orchestra of concrete in which the main columns of the Tower are stuffed. All the works for the construction of the foundation were carried out in approximately 6 months.
Once finished the orchestra the construction of the metallic structure that another 6 months delay began. Leaving of the columns stuffed in the orchestra, they began to unite the thousands of metallic parts, for that which you contract to the montajer company Mc Kee INC.
While the Tower began to be grown they made the foundations for the anchorages of the tensors that would lower from the level 120 meters. These foundations were made from an identical way to that of the Tower although with smaller quantity of piles (2 for anchorage)
Until the level of 120 meters (390 feet) the Tower behaved like a structure autoportante (he didn't need arriostraje for tensile).
The cables of the tensors were uncoiled of the spools in those that were and ascended by the crane for their placement in an important beam under the Platform 1 and tightened until the concrete anchorages that are to 95 meters of the base of the Tower.
For Christmas 1980, these steel cables were good to still transform the incomplete structure in an improvised but gigantic Christmas tree. At night they could it turns the thousands of lamps of colors that they formed the garlands embedded the steel tensors and a giant star on the roof of the 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
The construction continued ahead. Every day the workers that should exercise their work in it but high they already arrived for the internal stairway installed or they were taken until there in a cage species which was hooked by the crane that was in that moment in operation
While all this happened to the construction of the Tower, there was activity in the rest of the Park. They began to be assembled the tracts of 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. The future lakes that were still simple depressions in the land, gave the necessary earth to give form to the hills that today is recovered of grass. The place stopped to be a fallow field and began to take life with the colorful games that were arming.
The Tower continued become obstinate with having the record of height in Argentina[citation needed] and it continued growing. The platforms 1 and 2 already had their quite complete structure, 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.
From far a form was already profiled but it sums up that toward such rumors as that he would settle a revolvable sweet shop as that of the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, running in fashion and recently inaugurated by that time.
The metallic profiles seemed to never finish, most of the beams but big they were already in their place sustaining and giving form to the first platforms, but they even lacked many but I eat the countless bulones figure and nuts that the workers should place likewise and to adjust one by one.
The Tower was already in the level of the 176 meters and the whole city looked toward the South for the expectation that generated that structure of modern, futuristic design that was conjugated at the same time with the classic procedures of construction: 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 characteristic plates of aluminum in a trapezoidal way that allows that the Tower is view with its white color from almost any place inside of and outside of the city 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.
In the other sectors of the Park they began to already be proven the attractions armed. For the first time the characteristic sounds of the games, buzzings and snorts of air of the pneumatic pistons could be heard. The soft journey of the Russian splendid mountain "Aconcagua" was continued by the attentive view of the engineers in charge of the armed of this, and the amazed look of the workers. The attraction Scorpion began to give its first turns and to make its first swingings in Argentinean floor. The powerful stampede of the jets of water leaving for the nozzles of the source of Musical Waters startled to but of a distracted one that was close, as well as him toward the whistle of vapor of the locomotive of the train that the perimeter of the Park travels.
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.
