This sumptuous building belies its location on a quiet, almost run-down block of San Telmo. Its main exhibition hall boasts an intricate stained-glass ceiling within a cast-iron dome, held up by four oversized and graceful female goddesses and other angel-like figures. The Institute, named for founder and musical conductor Carlos Vega, hosts lectures, art exhibits, and musical recitals during the day. But the turn-of-the-last-century building itself is the true star; this was the original site of the National Library, where Borges was director from 1955 to 1973, before it moved to its current Palermo location in 1992.