Estación Mapocho

In many ways, Estación Mapocho is an relic of a significant period in Chilean history when the country was going through major economic and social changes, as well as celebrating its first centenary.

[2] The building is located at the intersection of two streets, Presidente Balmaceda and Bandera, on the south bank of the Mapocho River close to the Mercado Central de Santiago.

In 1987, the Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado (Chile's State Railroad Company or EFE) stopped the remodeling works and Estación Mapocho was decommissioned.

[3] Since demolition of a national monument is expressly forbidden by law, Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado sold the building to CORFO, Chile's economic growth agency, in 1988.

Architects Montserrat Palmer, Teodoro Fernández, Ramón López and Rodrigo Pérez de Arce were appointed to carry out the remodeling work.

During the nineteenth century, Estación Mapocho was an obligatory stop for international travellers, who went from Santiago to Valparaíso by train, and from there, by ocean, to rest of the world.