Nobody knows very well why, 50 years ago, they left the orphan home, the chapel and the school which had been created by the famous architect Alejandro Bustillo in the Gándara area, 25 kilometers from Chascomús. The distinguished design and the extraordinary quality of the materials used in the construction are the reason why the admirable complex still stands and still retains some of its inaugural splendor despite being in ruins.
The Nuestra Señora del Rosario Chapel was inaugurated on September 26, 1938. Two years later, the San José Apostolic College which was in charge of the Augustinian Recollect Fathers. The Church was commissioned by Francisco Monasterio, grandson of Leonardo Gándara (the founder of the town), to Alejandro Bustillo, one of the most renowned architects in the history of Argentina for being the founder of the “national classical style.”
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The importance given to the design of this group of constructions tells us about the relevance of such a building. The architect Alejandro Bustillo was in charge of the task. This is the same professional who designed the Provincial Hotel, the Bristol complex and the Central Casino of Mar del Plata. Many of the most famous buildings of the time were designed by this architect, such as the Llao Llao Hotel in Bariloche or Victoria Ocampo’s house and the building where Adolfo Bioy Casares and Silvina Ocampo lived.
The College operated a seminary, a philosopher, and a theologian, so the current abandonment of the complex It contrasts with the intense activity that existed in the place between 1939 and 1954.. To the continuous coming and going of priests and novices, we must add the fact that even before the inauguration, orphan children began to arrive at the place, which the religious placed on the upper floor of the monastery. For some reason that is still not clear today, in 1954 the Augustinian Recollect Fathers abandoned the place and the entire magnificent building was left uninhabited in 1960. As a final blow, in 1974 there was the total and definitive abandonment of the entire complex.
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The reasons for the abandonment and current state of the monastery are a mystery.. Some residents of the area risk that the reason for the abandonment is because the maintenance of the complex of buildings was very expensive. In fact, the chapel and the school were transferred to the Diocese of La Plata in 1974 until the Bishopric of Chascomús was created and nothing more is known. In recent times, an NGO project has circulated to develop meeting tourism activity in the place, where conventions and business events can be held, among other options.