Plaza Echaurren

Fun Facts

• • A new bronze statue honouring Jorge "Negro" Farías, the legendary local singer who popularised the vals "La Joya del Pacífico," was unveiled in the plaza in 2021, celebrating the city's profound musical heritage.
• • Despite its central role, until the late 19th century, the plaza was a "dry" square, completely devoid of trees or gardens, primarily serving as a rugged exchange point for merchandise carried by carts.
• • During the 1820s, it became known as Plaza del Abasto due to a sprawling street market, signifying its vital economic role as a hub for goods arriving from the interior.
• • In 1820, the historic Liberating Expedition of Peru, crucial for South American independence, impressively set sail from this very embarcadero, underscoring the plaza's strategic maritime importance.
• • Its transformation into an elegant, landscaped garden in 1889, featuring orange trees, palms, a decorative fountain with metal herons, and gas streetlights, dramatically introduced a European aesthetic to the public space.
• • Juan de Saavedra, part of Diego de Almagro's conquest, arrived here in 1536 to receive supplies from the caravel Santiaguillo, marking an early European presence in the region.
• • Known as the "Plaza de Armas," it served as Valparaíso's first public square and uniquely functioned as an embarcadero because the sea reached up to what is now Calle Serrano, the plaza's edge.
• • The area where Plaza Echaurren stands was originally the Pacific coastline, known as Quintil Valley to the Changos indigenous people, before any European settlement.
• • The devastating 1906 Valparaíso earthquake left the city, including the plaza, in ruins. Its subsequent restoration by 1941 resulted in a radically different, more modern design, replacing iron fences with cement balustrades and introducing prominent cactus arrangements.
• • The historic Edificio Lynch-Lizardi, home to the legendary Liberty bar established in 1897, stands directly opposite the plaza, cementing its status as a long-standing epicentre of Valparaíso's famed bohemian nightlife.
• • The plaza and surrounding commercial area suffered severe damage during the 1866 Spanish bombardment of Valparaíso, prompting a significant shift in the city's main commercial activity southwards.
• • The sector of Plaza Echaurren and Calle Serrano holds the distinction of being declared a Zona Típica (Typical Zone) by Chile's National Monuments Council, recognising its unique patrimonial value as an extension of the historic La Matriz Church area.