Prospering following the establishment of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires merchants had Boneo's Pier built in 1802, quickly becoming the city's main shipping terminal.

Enjoying close commercial ties to the British Empire, in 1830 Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas donated land in the area for the benefit of the new St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, the oldest in existence in Buenos Aires.

Several well-known members of the English community lived in the neighborhood of San Nicolás, including the Gowland's, belonging to a London family.

In 1862 the British established the Bank of London and Río de la Plata, located in the corners of the streets Piedad and Reconquista.

The rapid development of the Argentine economy after 1875 made itself evident in San Nicolás in the reclaiming of riverfront land, where the shore popular with washerwomen became the Paseo de Julio (today Leandro Alem Avenue) and lots such as the central artillery field became city parks.