As far back as 1909, a group of medical students purchased land in this place with a view to practising afforestation and soon afterwards a dense pine and eucalyptus forest grew there.
It was in 1911 that this place received the name of Atlantida. By 1916 the seaside resort’s infrastructure was far too small to lodge the substantial number of visitor that came here that holiday season.
A couple of years later, about 1920, this place began to proliferate. It was then that wealthy people seeking for peace and quietness began to build fine summer houses.
Furthermore, aside from such houses, the first hotels began to be built. Michelizzi, a business entrepreneur who arrive in Atlántida in 1935, was in charge of building the very first modern luxurious hotel.
By then, wooded streets and a promenade bordering 20 metre high cliffs were the seaside resort’s most outstanding features. A great number of paths and several flights of steps that led to the beach could be found along such promenade. This work is still considered to be a distinguishing characteristic of the place.
On the 5th December 1940 Atlántida was declared to be “ Population Centre” (“Centro Poblado”). That same year the sanitation system was implemented and drinkable water became available. Additionally, on the 7th September 1967 Atlántida achieved a higher status and officially became a City, being the first seaside resort from the Costa de Oro to acquire this condition.
Nowadays, Atlántida is one of the most popular seaside resorts among Uruguayan and Argentinean tourists, not to mention the fact that it is one of the busiest ones. This is mainly because of the high level of activity that characterises the place during summer. |
