Walking Tour through Recoleta and Palermo, CABA

A walking tour through some of the most iconic streets of Recoleta and Palermo. We start at the intersection of Ayacucho and Juncal streets. Crossing Avenida Coronel Díaz, we enter Palermo. We continue straight down Juncal Street until reaching the Botanical Garden, skirt the park along Avenida Santa Fe, and head down Avenida Sarmiento to the Rosedal (Rose Garden). We completed a full loop around the circuit surrounding the Rosedal and finished at Plaza Italia.

 

Corner Architecture 

 One of the buildings along the way is a great example of mid-20th-century residential rental architecture in Buenos Aires. It stands out for its striking corner design featuring a cylindrical/curved chamfer (ochava).
Instead of the typical flat chamfer of the local street grid, the design resolves the intersection with a continuous cylinder that emphasizes the corner and gives a fluid volume to the structure. The stylistic language blends academic eclecticism with touches of French style or a simplified classicism typical of the 1920s–1930s.
The base features distinct horizontal rustication that adds solidity to the ground floor. At the ground-floor corner, a blind or bricked-up opening is topped with a delicate ornamental relief molding in the shape of a shield. The upper floors maintain a uniform rhythm of windows with molded frames and prominent lintels, crowned by a mansard roof or curved topping that follows the cylindrical silhouette.

Contrasting Murals 

Along the route, two murals appear with a stark contrast in both technique and intent.

•    Left Mural – Classic Children's Illustration: Features several of the most iconic characters from Disney's golden age: Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, Goofy, Bambi, Donald Duck, Tinker Bell, and Chip 'n' Dale. It is a figurative, commercial/institutional painting intended for children (likely the front of a carousel, a kindergarten, or a neighborhood shop). It uses a "frame within a frame" technique, where characters seem to peer out from a starry background toward the viewer.
•    Right Mural – Naturalist Urban Art: A composition focused on local fauna and nature, featuring birds as the main subjects against an abstract foliage background created using stippling or splattering techniques. This is a classic street art intervention on the facade of a private house or building. It uses spray paint and acrylics, integrating architectural elements of the wall (a window, a grille, and weathered plaster) into the landscape. Unlike the previous mural, this one shows exposure to the elements and the passage of time: the peeling paint at the base adds that characteristic texture of everyday urban scenery.

The birds depicted belong to species native to or common in Argentina and the Southern Cone:

•    Foreground (lower left): A Rufous-bellied Thrush (Turdus rufiventris), recognizable by its olive-brown back, streaked throat, and characteristic reddish-orange belly.
•    Background (right): A male Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola), with bright yellow plumage, an orange/golden forehead, and subtle dark streaks on its back.

Urban Flora  

We also came across a Thunbergia alata, commonly known as Black-eyed Susan Vine.
It is an herbaceous climbing vine native to Sub-Saharan Africa, widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in warm and temperate climates. Its flower is instantly recognizable by the contrast between its five pale yellow or cream petals and its dark reddish-brown to near-black tubular center, which gives it its "black-eyed" name. The leaves are heart- or arrow-shaped with slightly serrated edges and winged petioles. Its vigorous growth allows it to quickly cover fences, walls, and pergolas.

An urban trek / city-trekking adventure and low-intensity steady-state (LISS) walk: active, yet contemplative.

Wikiloc link: https://es.wikiloc.com/rutas-senderismo/walk-through-recoleta-and-palermo-caba-280283486