KNOW OUR HISTORY
The enhancement of a historic building
The history of the land where Cassa Lepage was built dates back to 1580, when Don Juan de Garay, the second founder of the city of Santa María de los Buenos Ayres, granted the plot in question to the Chief Pilot Antonio Bermúdez.
During the following century, the place would have been a hollow or vacant lot. Around 1790, the marriage constituted by Don Francisco de Almandoz, a merchant from Navarra, and Doña Josefa de la Puebla, born in Buenos Aires, acquired the property and built there. a high-rise house, the first stable building that would have been located on this site.
After several property exchanges, in the middle of the 19th century the plot of Bolívar street was acquired by Martín Gregorio de Álzaga. Álzaga married the famous Felicitas Guerrero in 1864 and died in 1870 due to depression caused by the loss of a child at birth. Felicitas was murdered two years later, and her family inherited the property.
Expanding the lot through the acquisition of an adjoining parcel on the corner of Calle Belgrano, the Guerrero family built a commercial gallery with rental housing on the top floor. The building had a narrow internal passage over which the stained glass windows of the premises were arranged and which connected Bolívar street with Belgrano avenue.
THE BEGINNINGS
MOVIE TIME
In 1900, as a commemorative plaque on the façade recalls, the first cinematographic filming of Argentina was made, which records the visit of the Brazilian president Campos Salles to the Argentine Julio A. Roca. In charge of the registry was Casa Lepage, which had operated since 1880 in one of the commercial premises of Pasaje Belgrano.
In 1908, the firm was left in charge of who would have been one of its managers: Max Glucksmann, a pioneer of cinema in the country. On the terrace of the Passage, a small filming studio was set up where the first films were recorded. It was thus that the building became the cradle of national cinema and the starting point of a great emporium of the audiovisual industry, among whose main protagonists is none other than the international voice of tango, Carlos Gardel.
The whole building and passage ended up being the property of The Continental Insurance Company, which in 1923 commissioned the Argentine art deco master Alejandro Virasoro to completely remodel the façade and other areas of the building.
THE REMODELING
During the 1950s, the expansion that led Belgrano Street to become an avenue was completed. As a consequence of these public interest works, the entire Pasaje Belgrano sector that overlooked said artery had to be demolished. Part of the remaining land was sold and a high-rise building was built there that interrupted the Passage, preventing entry from Calle Belgrano.
In the 2000s, the entire complex was acquired to transform it into a tango-themed hotel. The architect Ana María Carrió was in charge of the direction of the works. During the remodeling, elements of urban archeology were discovered repeatedly in the basement of the Pasaje Belgrano.
Those responsible for the work consulted Daniel Schávelzon, director of the Center for Urban Archeology at the University of Buenos Aires. From that moment, a series of investigations began that lasted for many years, involving an interdisciplinary team of researchers.
The result was the formation of the most important collection of colonial archeology recovered so far in the city of Buenos Aires. The finds in the Belgrano Passage span a period of almost 400 years, from the early seventeenth century to the first decades of the twentieth, and are characterized by their abundance and integrity.
TRANSFORMATION
The meticulous restoration of the building integrated and exposed underground structures corresponding to a long period between the beginning of the 17th century and the first decades of the 20th, with contemporary art and decoration objects.
The old houses were recovered and turned into exquisite en-suite rooms with double height ceilings and large windows.
The 22 rooms have all the modern comfort, harmonious decoration and warmth.
PRESENT
Cassa Lepage links us with the history and culture of Buenos Aires.
Preserving the historical heritage and the environment and promoting tourist and cultural activities.
WELLNESS GOALS
We offer experiences with added value to promote well-being in the three dimensions of sustainability: business, socio-cultural and environmental.
Our hotel facilities and services are aimed at promoting the well-being of our guests, employees and suppliers.
BIODIVERSITY
The garden on the terrace It is part of the biodiversity corridor of the city of Buenos Aires.
More than 80 native species of South America make up a comprehensive green collection to enjoy and preserve.
