Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins ( en, General Liberator Bernardo O'Higgins Avenue), popularly known as La Alameda (meaning, a street bordered by poplar trees), is the main avenue of

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), 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 Regions of Chile, region, t ...

. It runs east-west in the center of the greater urban area and is long, and it has up to 5 lanes in each direction. It was named after Chile's founding father Bernardo O'Higgins. It was originally a branch of the Mapocho River.

History

The avenue is located on the former stream bed of a branch of the Mapocho River, which was drying up between 1560 and 1580. Such landforms were known by the Spaniards as '' Cañadas'', and from there the origin of its initial name of ''Cañada''. For many decades it was used as a

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

site, until it was converted into a boulevard by Bernardo O'Higgins during the first years of independence of the country and was named as ''Alameda de las Delicias''.

Description

Alameda Avenue originates immediately west of the Plaza Baquedano, as a continuation of

Providencia Avenue Avenida Providencia is a major thoroughfare in Santiago, Chile. It runs along the commune of Providencia. Description Providencia begins at the northern terminus of Vicuña Mackenna Avenue as a continuation of Alameda Avenue. Immediately, the op ...

, and runs in a generally southwesterly direction until its junction with Chile Route 68. The south section of the initial stretch of the avenue is dominated by a cluster of tower blocks called ''Remodelación San Borja''. On the opposite side of the Alameda, the

city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...

s are characterized by a continuous building frontage. This urban design is broken by the

Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral The Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM) (formerly known as the Diego Portales Building) is a cultural center located on 227 Av. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, in Santiago de Chile. The complex was originally built to serve as the headquarters fo ...

. The corner of the Alameda and Portugal Avenue is home to the headquarters of the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

. Heading west, the avenue skirts the southern edge of the Cerro Santa Lucía. The following stretch of the Alameda consists of almost unbroken blocks of mostly office and commercial buildings interspersed with some historical buildings, including the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, San Francisco Church,

Club de la Unión The Club de la Unión is a non-profit Peruvian civil association which was founded on October 10, 1868. Its founders include such notable historical figures such as admiral Miguel Grau, colonel Alfonso Ugarte, and colonel Francisco Bolognesi, man ...

and behind it the building housing the Santiago Stock Exchange, as well as the old building serving as headquarters for the University of Chile, which faces the Paseo Ahumada. West of the just mentioned street and a half block north of the Alameda is located the Edificio Ariztía. West of San Francisco Church, the Alameda's median widens to accommodate a park. The avenue bisects a large rectangular area lined with walls of government buildings, whose core portion is home to the Palacio de la Moneda. West of Amunátegui Street stands the Torre Entel, a landmark communication tower. The Norte-Sur axis of the Autopista Central passes underneath Alameda. From here the average height of the buildings decreases significantly. Between Brasil Avenue and Cumming Avenue, it borders the Barrio Concha y Toro. Leaving the central district at Matucana Avenue, the Alameda enters into Estación Central. The

Santiago Estación Central railway station Alameda (unofficially Estación Central) is a major railway station in Santiago, Chile, serving the south of the country, and is the city's primary and railway station, and is the only major railway station in Santiago after the closure of Mapoc ...

and the main campus of the University of Santiago are located here. Crossing Las Rejas Avenue, the avenue forms the boundary between Estación Central to the south and

Lo Prado Lo Prado () is a Chilean commune located in Santiago, which is itself part of the Metropolitan region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Santiago urban area. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Lo Pr ...

to the north. The Alameda terminates at a partial Y interchange.

Monuments

La Alameda's principal monuments are dedicated to the military heroes in Chile's history. Near the La Moneda Palace are the statues of José de San Martín,

Manuel Bulnes Prieto Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile bet ...

, and Bernardo O'Higgins. Near the intersection of the Autopista Central and La Alameda, there is erected the statue to the heroes of the

Battle of La Concepción The Battle of Concepción ( es, Batalla de Concepción) was a battle fought between Chilean and Peruvian forces on July 9 and July 10, 1882, during the Sierra Campaign of the War of the Pacific. Heavily outnumbered, the Chilean detachment of ...

. A beautiful mosaic was constructed at the edge 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 ...

in honor of the poet Gabriela Mistral; there are also dozens of other monuments to persons of national and international importance along the central floe of La Alameda.

Santiago Metro

Underneath the avenue runs Line 1 (depicted on subway maps as Santiago de Chile L1

), the main line of the Santiago Metro. The transit agency's headquarters are located at the corner of La Alameda and Lord Cochrane street. From west to east, the stations along La Alameda are: * Las Rejas * Ecuador * San Alberto Hurtado * Universidad de Santiago * Estación Central * Unión Latinoamericana * República * Los Héroes Santiago de Chile L2

* La Moneda * Universidad de Chile Santiago de Chile L3

* Santa Lucía Santiago de Chile L9

* Universidad Católica * Baquedano Santiago de Chile L5

References

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