Abasto de Buenos Aires

The Abasto Shopping is one of the largest shopping malls in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a landmark example of Art Deco architecture in Latin America. The building served as the city's central wholesale fruit and vegetable market (Mercado de Abasto) from 1893 to 1984. Designed by architects José Luis Delpini, Viktor Sulčič, and Raúl Bes—the same team responsible for La Bombonera stadium—the current Art Deco structure was completed in 1934 and represents a pioneering use of reinforced concrete in Argentine architecture. After the market closed in 1984, the building remained abandoned for over a decade before being purchased in 1996 by IRSA, the real estate company led by Eduardo Elsztain.IRSA restored the building's historic façade while converting it into a modern shopping center, which opened in November 1998. The area surrounding the Abasto has deep cultural significance in tango history, particularly as the neighborhood where legendary singer Carlos Gardel—known as El Morocho del Abasto ("the dark-haired guy from Abasto")—lived from 1927 to 1933. Today, the surrounding area, though officially part of the Balvanera neighbourhood, is commonly referred to as Abasto. The shopping center is served by the adjoining Line B metro station Carlos Gardel.