Villa Crespo

Villa Crespo
Barrio
Cityscape view over Villa Crespo
Location of Villa Crespo within Buenos Aires
Country	Argentina
Autonomous City	Buenos Aires
Comuna	C15
Important sites	Memorial to Osvaldo Pugliese
Area
• Total	3.8 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	89,859
• Density	24,000/km2 (61,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-3 (ART)

Church of St. Joseph, Villa Crespo.

Villa Crespo is a middle-class neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, located in the geographical centre of the city. It has a population of approximately 100,000 people.

It grew around the "Fábrica Nacional de Calzado" (National Shoe Factory, 1888). It is named after Buenos Aires mayor, Antonio F. Crespo. On April 11, 1894, the San Bernardo church was opened to the public. Villa Crespo was home to several conventillos, including the most famous one, the Conventillo de la Paloma. Under Juan B. Justo avenue runs the Maldonado waterstream, culverted to prevent major floods.

Villa Crespo has been traditionally associated with the Jewish community, hosting several synagogues, hebrew schools and youth movements, but it is actually populated by a mix of different peoples, just like the rest of Buenos Aires. Its traditional football (soccer) club is Atlanta.

Until the 1980s, it had a clothing commercial centre in Scalabrini Ortiz Avenue (previously named Canning), but it has lost its strength over the years. The main commercial hub is still the intersection of Scalabrini Ortiz and Corrientes avenues.

Some leather clothes stores are located in the area around Murillo street, and on Warnes Avenue are numerous auto-part stores. On the other hand, the neighbourhood has a relative lack of parks and squares.

Well-known people born or raised in this neighbourhood include Osvaldo Pugliese, tango musician, Leopoldo Marechal, writer, who located many episodes of his Adán Buenosayres novel in Villa Crespo, or the poet Juan Gelman.

Filmed in Villa Crespo

• Bolivia, 2001.