Piri�polis was founded on 5 November 1890 by Francisco Piria. Its initial name was El Balneario del Porvenir (the Resort of the Future). In 1890, Piria had bought a very big stretch of land, including the hills Cerro Pan de Az�car, Cerro del Ingl�s and Cerro del Toro, all the way south to the beach. In 1897 he finished the construction of his personal residence, the Castle of Piria, in 1905 the construction of "Hotel Piri�polis", today known as "Colonia Escolar de Vacaciones", in 1910 he constructed the coastal avenueRambla de los Argentinos, and in 1912 he started selling the first building lots. In 1913 he established a scenic steam train line joining the (under construction) Port of Piri�polis with the Cerro Pan de Az�car. The construction of the port finished in 1916. From 1920 to 1930 he constructed the Argentino Hotel, one of the biggest hotels of South America of the times. When Piria died in 1933, his natural and legal children started fighting each other over the inheritance.
On 10 September 1937, the status of the populated centre was elevated to "Pueblo" (village) by the Act of Ley N� 9.687. On 21 June 1960 its status was further elevated to "Ciudad" (city) by the Act of Ley N� 12.736
