The formation of Baquedano Square as a new centrality in Santiago, Chile. Infrastructure, urban changes, and modernization, 1890-1945

Abstract

The article analyzes the changes of Plaza Baquedano in Santiago, Chile, from the late 19th century, highlighting its evolution from a territorial boundary to a strategic node and new urban center during the early decades of the 20th century. From a historiographical perspective, it argues that this change was consolidated through the installation of infrastructures such as sanitation systems, roads, transportation networks, and green areas, reflecting a sustained process of material modernization that transformed both the plaza and its immediate surroundings. The study focuses on the interaction and replacement between transportation infrastructures, represented by the Llano del Maipo Railway, and green spaces, driven by the inauguration of the Forest Park in 1900, demonstrating how the overlapping of green infrastructures over railway ones marked the dominance of new urban discourses and the political needs of the time. This process culminated in milestones such as the demolition of the Providencia station and the opening of Bustamante Park in 1945, consolidating a renewed urban space. From this perspective, the research seeks to provide a deeper understanding of the infrastructural changes that allowed Plaza Baquedano to become a key urban center in a Santiago undergoing metropolitan growth and modernization.