After seeing the Plaza, one may take No. 19 there for Parque Cousiño, or a cab or automobile for a drive about the city. In 1911 the paving on many streets was so rough that the cars were preferred by many; yet one conversant with the city could for the most part keep to smooth roadways and visit nearly all sections.
The business quarter of the city is chiefly between the Plaza and the Alameda, extending also to the west. All of these streets are rather narrow with a single car track on one side, the cars as in Lima going by one route and returning by another to the starting point. In this section are many excellent shops of all kinds, the hotels, banks, and the government buildings. Of the last the Capitol is naturally the finest, occupying a whole square a little west of the Cathedral. On two sides of this large handsome structure are beautifully kept gardens, with magnolias, heliotrope, and other flowers. In the garden on the east front is a beautiful marble madonna in an attitude of mourning or prayer, with four kneeling angels at her feet. An inscription records that this is a memorial to the victims of the fire, December 8, 1863, witness of the undying love and grief of the people ten years later. The church of the Jesuits, then consumed with 2000 victims, formerly stood on this spot.
Of the four entrances, this on the east is to the Cámara de Diputados above, that on the west to the Cámara de Senadores. Both Chambers are like small theaters with four rows of seats raised one above another, each with a small table and writing material in front. There is a high carved dais for the President. A dome of colored glass forms the roof. In the Senatorial Chamber is a painting by Valenzuela Llanos representing the first Congress, July 4, 1811, held in the National Library near by. The building has wide marble staircases, rooms for the President, for secretaries, some designed for discussion and conversation; also a large handsome Congress Hall where the President reads his message at the same time to both Houses, and to the Diplomats. To the two galleries of the hall, friends are admitted by ticket for the opening of Congress, an impressive and ceremonious occasion. This building is heated by steam pipes, a wonderful innovation, making it comfortable even to Americans.
The official residence of the President is in the Palacio de la Moneda which contains also his offices and those of the Ministers of the Interior, Finance, and Foreign Relations, as well as the quarters of the Mint. This building, between the streets Morande and Teatinos, faces the Plaza de la Moneda, which is ornamented with fountains and flower beds, and a statue of an able Minister, Don Diego Portales, noted for his uprightness. The Palacio with its two large patios occupies an entire square. By a curious mistake plans designed for a Government House in Mexico City were sent here, and so pleased the Chilians that they decided to use them. Opposite the Palace on the north side of the Plaza is the Ministry of War and Marine; on the west side is the British Legation. The United States Legation is well located on the Alameda. On the east side of the Palace on Morande street, facing the entrance to the Mint is the Ministry of Public Works. On the Plaza Moneda band concerts occur Tuesdays and Fridays at the same hours as those on the other Plaza.
The most notable street in the city is the Avenida de las Delicias, commonly called the Alameda, a beautiful park-like promenade 600 feet wide, extending four miles from beyond the hill park, Santa Lucia, to the Quinta Normal and Central Railway Station. Here formerly was the river bed of the Mapocho, now farther to the north. The transformation was due to General O’Higgins. The central parkway has four rows of trees, oaks, elms, acacias; little canals of running water and many monuments of soldiers, statesmen, and scientists of Chile. Next to the parkway on each side are electric car tracks, and beyond, broad boulevards for carriages, bordered by wide sidewalks and many handsome residences. Near the calle Ahumada stands a monument to the brothers, Miguel Luis and Gregorio Victor Amunátegui, the elder, a patriot of marked distinction in civil life who served as Minister under several administrations. A remarkable speaker among people distinguished for their oratory, he died in 1888, greatly mourned.
Proceeding down the Avenue one passes a bust of Abate Molina, a noted naturalist and author of the eighteenth century. A Natural History of the Country of Chile was his chief work. There follows a bust of José Miguel Infante, a great philanthropist who was one of the foremost in the struggle for independence.
Next is the most striking of the memorials in the Alameda, a bronze statue of General Bernardo O’Higgins on horseback, represented as on his famous retreat from Rancagua. Bernardo, born in Chillan, Chile, and educated in England, was the son of an Irishman Ambrose O’Higgins who after living some time in Spain settled in Chile, where he was made Governor in 1778. Bernardo entering the army in 1813 became commander, and as previously related took part in most of the revolutionary struggles, later becoming Supreme Dictator. In spite of an excellent administration, after a few years he was requested to resign, which he promptly and patriotically did, then withdrawing to Peru. Some years later, influenced by President Bulnes, the Chilians tardily recalled the disinterested patriot and were preparing to receive him with due honor when, as about to set out on his return, in 1845 he died. In 1868 his remains were brought back by a Commission of the Government and interred in the General Cemetery.
A little farther, on the left, stands a life-size figure of Carrera, José Miguel: the most noted of three brothers, ardent patriots in the struggle for independence, but of misdirected zeal; all three executed in Mendoza by the Argentines, José, the last, without a trial, Sept. 4, 1821. The bodies of the three were by order of Congress brought in 1828 to Santiago and buried in the Compañia Church.
Some distance beyond is the monument of another general and dictator, Don Ramon Freire, also distinguished in the War of Independence and called by O’Higgins, the bravest of the brave. Later engaging in civil war and being defeated in the battle of Lircai in 1830, he too went to Peru, but returned before his death in 1853.
The next monument, between calles San Martin and Manuel Rodríguez, is to the great hero who is honored in every city, General San Martin, sometimes called the Hannibal of the Andes. Though receiving scant honor in his later life, after his death in 1850 his memory was cherished. This bronze equestrian statue, erected by public subscription in 1863, represents the hero holding a flag which is surmounted by a small figure of Liberty.