Plaza de Armas of Santiago

The Plaza de Armas de Santiago is located in the commune of Santiago and is the core of the historic center of the capital of Chile.

It is located in the quadrant delimited by Catedral and Monjitas streets to the north, 21 de Mayo and Estado to the east, Compañía and Merced to the south, Paseo Ahumada and Paseo Puente to the west. Under the square is the Plaza de Armas station of the Santiago Metro, inaugurated in 2000 for line 5 and in 2019 for line 3.

History

Pre-Hispanic period

The researcher Rubén Stehberg from the National Museum of Natural History of Chile and Gonzalo Sotomayor from the Andrés Bello University gathered a series of evidence from research presented in 1976, plus historical documents, and to this they added new evidence with which they postulate the theory that under the city of the old town of Santiago there would be an Inca settlement in the middle courses of the Mapocho and Maipo rivers.

There would have been a Tawantinsuyu urban centre, under the old town of the city of Santiago, from which there were incaic roads in different directions and whose base of support was the hydroagriculture and the mining of gold and silver, [...] the infrastructure of this facility would have been exploited by (the Spanish conqueror) Pedro de Valdivia to found the city of Santiago.

Ruben Stehberg

Spanish conquest

The Chilean capital was founded on February 12, 1541 by the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia. Its checkerboard-shaped layout, similar to a chess board, was designed by the builder Pedro de Gamboa. In this way, the construction of a central plaza was planned around which the main administrative buildings would be erected.

The recovas or markets were born around the square, as carts with goods arrived in this area during the colonial era. In the middle, the gallows was located to execute those sentenced and demonstrate the power of Royal Justice.

Republican stage

By decree of January 20, 1825, the name of the place changed from Plaza Mayor to Plaza de la Independencia, a name that would be maintained throughout the century XIX and would later fall into disuse to return to the classic name of Plaza de Armas.

In the following years, the idea of a completely flat block changed and in 1859, following European architectural concepts, the square was forested by installing trees and beautiful gardens. Later, in 1896, the French landscaper living in Chile, Guillermo Renner, designed a picturesque garden of irregular shape with araucarias, cedars, ceibos, oaks, palms and pataguas, as well as water lagoons and winding paths.

Starting in 1872, with the extension of the animal-drawn tram line from the University of Chile to the Central Market passing through the Plaza de Armas, this point became the place of convergence of various routes of the « blood cars" and later electric trams.

On April 22, 1973, the first LGBT demonstration in Chile took place in the Plaza de Armas, where around 50 people gathered to protest against the police abuses they suffered.

Between 1998 and 2000, a renovation of the area due to the construction works of the Plaza de Armas station of the Santiago Metro gave rise to the current plaza, which mixes esplanade sectors for cultural activities, especially that of the classics painters and comedians, gardens and a central pergola for the musical performance of the municipal band.

2014 renovation

In December 2014, its plaza was closed to carry out maintenance and remodeling of some gardens. The work cost one thousand six hundred and sixty-three million Chilean pesos (two million seven hundred thousand US dollars in 2014) and included forty percent more green areas; thirty percent more trees (which generates seventy percent shade); one hundred and sixty new lights with LED technology; ten high-tech surveillance cameras connected to Carabineros de Chile, municipal surveillance and the commune website; and free wifi network. It was reopened on December 4, 2014 in a ceremony led by the then mayor of Santiago, Carolina Tohá.

After this remodeling, the plaza also has park rangers twenty-four hours a day.

Environment

On the west side of the square, in the north-west corner, is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. Although the first construction of a church was carried out in conjunction with the founding of the city, the current building is the fifth built on the site. Its construction began in 1748, and was completed in 1775. However, in 1780, the architect Joaquín Toesca designed a new façade for the Cathedral and the adjoining Church of the Sagrario. At the end of the 19th century, Ignacio Cremonesi was commissioned by Bishop Casanova to carry out a comprehensive remodeling of the cathedral, which included new facades, a modification of the interior nave and the construction of two towers towards the square and a dome over the main altar.

Facing the north side of the Plaza are the old government buildings of the Colony. From west to east, the current Central Post Office, the National Historical Museum and the Illustrious Municipality of Santiago are located.

The building of the Central Post Office of Santiago occupies the site assigned in the foundation to the conqueror Pedro de Valdivia, where the residence of the Governors of Chile was later built and, after independence, of the Presidents until 1846, when the residence presidential was transferred to the La Moneda Palace. However, a fire almost completely destroyed the building, and it was restored in 1881, giving it the neoclassical style it currently has. In 1903 a third floor and an upper dome were built.

The National Historical Museum is located in the old building of the Royal Court Palace, the main colonial court in the country. Built between 1804 and 1807 by a disciple of Toesca, after the Independence of Chile it was the headquarters of various ministries until they were moved to La Moneda, like the presidential residence. In 1982, the current museum was opened, which brings together various historical collections.

The Municipality building occupies the site where the city council and the old colonial prison were originally built, built between 1578 and 1647. In 1679, the second construction of the building was demolished and rebuilt by Toesca, now with styles neoclassicists in 1790. A fire in 1891 forced a reconstruction carried out by the architect Eugenio Joannon, the new building being inaugurated in 1895 and officially declared the headquarters of the communal administration.

Various commercial premises are also located around the Plaza, such as the Portal Fernández Concha, located in front of the south side of the Plaza. This shopping center was built in 1869 and brings together both typical Chilean and international food establishments and stores with different items. In the area surrounding the Cathedral, on Puente and Catedral streets, there is an area that has been informally called "Little Lima" due to the large number of immigrants of Peruvian origin and commerce aimed at their service that has been established in nearby.

Monuments

• The equestrian statue of Pedro de Valdivia (1966), originally installed on the skirt of the Saint Lucia hill.
• Monument to American Freedom or the Victoria of Ayacucho.
• Monument to the original peoples.
• Monument to the Cardinals of the Church, Monsignors José María Caro and Raúl Silva Henríquez.
• Statue of the Apostle James.
• Bicentennial capsule (2010).
• Ground level plates: Plate of the Zero Kilómetro (to the center of the square), Historical plans of the city of Santiago, a record of construction of the Cathedral and commemorative plaque of the visit of John Paul II (1987).