Catholic University (station)

Universidad Católica is an underground railway station on line 1 of the Santiago de Chile metro network, between Santa Lucía and Baquedano on the same line. It is located on Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins at number 270, in the commune of Santiago.

Etymological origin

Its name originates from the fact that the station is located just below the headquarters of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

It was previously symbolized with the silhouette of the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, known simply as Christ, which crowns the façade of its central house.

Features and environment

It presents a moderate flow of passengers, corresponding mainly to university students due to the large number of study houses located in the area. The station has an average daily flow of 23,828 passengers.

It has two entrances (one on each side of Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins. On the mezzanine you can see Osvaldo Peña's sculpture The Journey, installed in 2009.

In the immediate surroundings of the station are, on the south side, the Central House of the Catholic University, with Medicine, Law, Communications and Biological Sciences; the Andrés Bello campus of the University of Chile, where the faculties of Economics and Business and Architecture and Urbanism are located; the Public Assistance Emergency Hospital or Central Post Office; the Crowne Plaza Hotel (architects Alemparte Barreta y Asociados); the Torres de San Borja with its park.

A few steps from the entrance to the station, is the San Francisco de Borja church, of the Carabineros of Chile. Neo-Gothic in style and inspired by the Sainte Chapelle in Paris, it was completed in 1876 with the name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and served as the hospital chapel. In November 1975 it was transferred to the Carabineros de Chile for its religious services and in 1982 it was renamed with its current name.

In front of the church stands the monument Glory and Victory, by the sculptor Héctor Román, a tribute to the police who fell in service. Next door is the Mutual de Seguridad building (architect José Gabriel Alemparte, 1999, when he was a member of the Alemparte Barreda y Asociados Society).

In 2016 they installed some mosaic murals —A chincolito told me about it, the work of visual artist Valeria Merino—, at the south entrance of the station.

On the sidewalk in front of Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins, there is the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center (GAM), in addition to the Lastarria neighborhood.

Accesses

Access	Intersection
A	Alameda with José Victorino Lastarria
B	Alameda with Av. Portugal

MetroArte

The station has a sculpture made by the sculptor Osvaldo Peña, titled El Viaje. This sculpture portrays a person walking along a narrow yellow road, simulating what a service passenger does every day: making a short trip that is repeated daily. The statue, which is made of steel, was installed at the station in 2009, although it could previously be found at the Pedro de Valdivia station (where it was originally installed in 1998).

In addition, at the access to Avenida Portugal, there is Me Lo Contó un Chincolito, a work by the artist Valeria Merino. It is made up of mosaics and each one depicts different landmarks belonging to the San Borja neighborhood. The mural is not part of the MetroArte project, but rather arose through an initiative initiated by the residents of the neighborhood, in collaboration with Metro de Santiago and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Gallery

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  Signboard used in connections to the station until 1997.

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  Old Cenefa used in the Andenes.

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  Cenefa currently used in the Andenes.

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  The journeyOsvaldo Peña.

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  He told me something.Valeria Merino.

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  Andenes from the station

Connection with Metropolitan Mobility Network

The station has 5 stops of the Metropolitan Mobility Network in its surroundings (without the existence of stop 5), which correspond to: