Barrio del Golf, since 1948:
In 1948, the water tower of the Parque del Golf neighborhood was inaugurated, a notable architectural work and a symbol of Punta del Este. One of the resort's most exclusive and beautiful neighborhoods also emerged, and has successfully withstood the wave of concrete and cement that took over the Peninsula several decades ago.
It is not known for certain whether its mentor, Argentine architect Arturo Dubourg, or the Chaquiriand family, who owned the place at the time, named the large building L'Auberge (the inn, in French). Inside, it housed the drinking-water storage tank for an entire neighborhood, and its ground floor contained a small ten-room hotel. The establishment soon became famous for its refined tea room, where waffles made in special molds brought from Belgium were, and still are, served.
Seven decades ago, one of Punta del Este's most elegant areas was born. Dubourg built dozens of large, luxurious residences surrounded by extensive gardens, many of which were and still are true parks. For Dubourg, this marked the beginning of a professional period on the Peninsula, where over three decades he would go on to build more than one hundred chalets.
The visionaries:
Uruguayan businessman Pascual Gattás and Argentine businessman Óscar Cadermatori joined forces to develop a new urbanization adjoining the emerging San Rafael neighborhood, which had been successfully laid out by fellow businessman Laureano Alonsopérez.
Notary Marta and Dr. Pedro Berro joined Gattás and Cadermatori. They all agreed that architect Dubourg, who already had a strong reputation in the Río de la Plata region, was the right person to carry out the ambitious project. His most notable works included the Bristol and Claridge hotels in Buenos Aires, as well as dozens of luxurious chalets in the Los Troncos neighborhood of Mar del Plata.
Internal reference: Tera-2655
