Located on land granted to
Adelantado Juan Torres de Vera y Aragón by Captain
Juan de Garay in 1620, a port settlement known as
Puerto del Riachuelo first emerged here in 1731. Established as
Barracas al Sur on April 7, 1852, by
Quilmes Justice of the Peace Martín José de la Serna, the town grew to become a major rail center during the late 19th century. It was renamed on January 11, 1904, after former President
Nicolás Avellaneda. It was declared a city on October 23, 1895, and its population has been stable since around 1960. Avellaneda is one of the foremost wholesale and industrial centers of Argentina. The city's largest employers are textile mills, meat-packing and grain-processing plants,
oil refineries,
metallurgical works, extensive docking facilities, and markets for farm and ranch products; some of the most prominent firms whose main facilities are in Avellaneda are food processor
Molinos Río de la Plata, beverage maker Cepas Argentinas, bathroom fixtures maker Ferrum, and
América 24 cable news. The National University of Avellaneda was established here in 2009. The Central Produce Market (
Mercado Central de Frutos) also operated in Avellaneda. Located on the banks of the Riachuelo, it was developed by
Irish Argentine businessman
Eduardo Casey and inaugurated in 1889; served by a
Buenos Aires Western Railway rail link, the brick structure was at the time the largest warehouse in the world. The decentralization of warehousing and wholesaling during the 20th century, as well as its nationalization in 1946 as part of the
IAPI state export agency, resulted in its decline, however, and the Central Produce Market closed in 1963. It was ultimately demolished in 1966 to make way for the
New Pueyrredón Bridge that connects Avellaneda to the Frondizi Expressway in Buenos Aires proper. ==Travel==