Plaza Sotomayor

Originally, it was an esplanade in which filthy water descended sluggishly through San Agustín (Tomás Ramos) gorge, standing next to the current Plaza de la Justicia (Justice Square).

The Bolsa de Comercio building[8] was constructed with wood and cane from Guayaquil in 1858 and designed by the architect Juan Berg, who created a porch to access the city from the sea.

Additionally, in the year 1866, the city of Valparaíso was bombed by the Spanish Navy during the Chincha Islands War originating from a trade dispute between Spain and Peru.

[citation needed] In 1873, the square was already cobbled when the first sculpture of Valparaíso was built in 12 April, commemorating the Scottish seamen Lord Thomas Cochrane.

In 1885, the Bolsa de Comercio (The Stock Exchange) located in Valparaíso square right in front of the Hotel Reina Victoria[9] (Queen Victoria Hotel) had to be demolished to install in its place the great monument to the fallen heroes in the Battle of Iquique[10] and the crypt of the remains of Arturo Prat and his men, which would be inaugurated on 21 May 1886.

The following year, a neoclassical building was built on the grounds of the current port station that was meant to serve as the administration of the Navy and other public uses, and would remain so until 1920.

In 2004, the design of the square extends to the Prat Wharf, turning it into a touristic walkway from which was possible to embark in order to cross the roadstead of Valparaíso from the sea.

At the Prat wharf is possible to see a replica of the Santiaguillo (es), a small sailing boat which was the first Spaniard vessel to dock in this bay called Quintil.