Huérfanos Street is an east-west street in downtown
Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. The word huérfanos is Spanish for orphans and the street is so named because an
orphanage
An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
that was built here in 1758.
Description
Huérfanos Street's eastern end originates west of
Santa Lucía Hill
Santa Lucía Hill ( es, Cerro Santa Lucía), also known in Mapuche as Huelén Hill ( es, Cerro Huelén), is a small hill in the centre of Santiago, Chile. It is situated between Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins in the south, Santa Lu ...
. The segment between Mac Iver and Teatinos streets is pedestrianized. Many banks, stores and cinemas operate on this segment. It is also home to the headquarters of
Codelco
Codelco (''Corporación Nacional'' ''del'' ''Cobre de Chile'' or, in English, the National Copper Corporation of Chile) is a Chilean state-owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationali ...
and the
Constitutional Court of Chile
The Constitutional Court of Chile (''Tribunal Constitucional de Chile'' in Spanish) is Chile's constitutional tribunal. It is not part of the judicial branch and is functionally independent of the Congress and the President. The court is housed in ...
, which occupies the
Ex Caja de Crédito Hipotecario building. At the center of this segment, Huérfanos and
Paseo Ahumada
Paseo Ahumada is four-block-long street in downtown Santiago. It extends in a north–south direction from Plaza de Armas to the Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins and is lined by buildings housing retail establishments at their lower l ...
form a busy pedestrian intersection.
Palacio Pereira is located at the corner of Huérfanos and San Martín Street. A block west of the palace, the street is interrupted by the east branch of the
Autopista Central
Autopista Central ("Central Highway", in Spanish) is a privatized, partially submerged highway in Chile forming part of the Ruta 5. It forms part of the urban highway network of Santiago, all of which incorporate a free flow toll system. Out of t ...
, however a
cable-stayed footbridge gives to Huérfanos some level of continuity.
Going westward, the street is first part of the
Barrio Brasil
Barrio Brasil is a neighborhood of Santiago, Chile, located to the west of the city center in the commune of Santiago and to the east of Barrio Yungay. Barrio Brasil is close to the neighborhoods Dieciocho, Concha y Toro, Yungay, and República ...
and then part of the
Barrio Yungay. At the southeastern corner of Huérfanos and Almirante Barroso Street is the
Basílica del Salvador
The Basílica del Salvador is a basilica located at the corner of Huérfanos Street and Almirante Barroso Street in the Barrio Brasil of Santiago de Chile. The basilica was designed by the German architect Teodoro Burchard in the Neo Gothic style. ...
. From
Brasil Avenue to Maturana Street, Huérfanos borders
Plaza Brasil.
Many blocks west of Brasil Avenue, Huérfanos marks the southern border of some quaint streets and alleys. A
skyway
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
that is part of the
San Juan de Dios Hospital
San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation, Inc. (SJDEFI or SJ, formerly Hospital de San Juan de Dios) is a private, non-stock, non-profit, joint institute of education and tertiary health sciences operating as a college and a hospital in Pasay, P ...
passes over the street before being interrupted by the
Quinta Normal Park
Quinta Normal Park is an urban park in the city of Santiago, Chile. The park is in a commune, or district of the same name, Quinta Normal. The park is bounded by Matucana Avenue to the east, Portales Avenue to the south and Santo Domingo Street to ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Huerfanos
Streets in Chile
Tourist attractions in Santiago, Chile