History
La Moneda, originally a colonial mint (moneda means coin), was designed by Italian architect Joaquín Toesca. Construction began in 1784 and was opened in 1805, while still under construction. The production of coins in Chile took place at La Moneda from 1814 to 1929.
In June, 1845 during president Manuel Bulnes's administration, the palace became the seat of government and presidential residence. In 1930, a public square —named Plaza de la Constitución ("Constitution Square")— was built in front of the palace. After the presidency of Gabriel González Videla it ceased to serve as a presidential residence.
During the military coup d'état on September 11, 1973, the palace was partially destroyed by aerial bombing by the Chilean Air Force as requested by the army when it was assaulting the said palace when then Socialist President Salvador Allende rejected the military's ultimatum for him to step down. It has been accepted in some quarters that Allende actually killed himself in the palace as it was under assault by the armed forces. Modern forensics has suggested that it is questionable whether this actually happened. Chile has exhumed the remains of former president Allende to try to resolve the issue over whether he killed himself or not. Reconstruction and restoration projects were completed on March 11, 1981, although some bullet marks have been preserved and can still be seen nowadays. An underground office complex (the so-called "bunker") was built under the front square, during the 1973-1980 restorations to provide a safe escape for then President General Augusto Pinochet in case of an attack.
During President Ricardo Lagos's administration, the palace's inner courtyards were opened to the public during certain hours of the day. Lagos also re-opened Morandé 80 — a gate used by Chilean presidents to enter the palace since the early 20th century. It was eliminated during the restoration of the palace as not being in the original plans, but was restored because of the heavy symbolism attached to it as being the gate through which Chilean Presidents entered La Moneda skipping the main's gate guard protocol or, in other words, as ordinary citizens of the Republic. It was also the gate through which the body of President Allende was taken out after the 1973 coup.
In April 2006, Plaza de la Ciudadanía ("Citizenry Square") was opened on its southern façade, replacing a parking lot. The square was continued south of the Alameda avenue as Plaza de La Cultura ("Square of Culture"). A plan to connect both squares to create a single pedestrian zone, tunneling the avenue in between, has been scrapped.
A traditional guard mounting happens every odd-numbered day, including Sundays, at 10 a.m.
Read more about this topic: La Moneda Palace
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