Palacio La Moneda

The Palacio La Moneda is Chile's seat of executive power, a severe neoclassical building designed by Joaquín Toesca and completed in 1805. It was originally the colonial mint (moneda means coin), and it served that function until 1846 when it became the presidential palace. The building occupies an entire city block in central Santiago and is one of the finest examples of colonial neoclassical architecture in South America.

Access to the interior is restricted but the exterior can be viewed from Avenida Alameda and from the sunken Plaza de la Ciudadanía to the south. The changing of the guard ceremony takes place every other day at noon in the Patio de Honor (the north courtyard facing the Alameda) — a military ritual that draws a crowd of locals and visitors. The plaza in front of the northern facade has a bronze equestrian statue of Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's liberator.

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On September 11, 1973, Chilean Air Force Hawker Hunter jets bombed the La Moneda palace while President Salvador Allende and a small group of supporters defended it against the military coup. Allende died in the building — whether by his own hand or killed by soldiers is still disputed. The palace was subsequently used to hold prisoners and was not restored to its executive function until 1981. The bomb craters and bullet holes were repaired, but the historical photographs taken that morning remain among the most striking of the 20th century.

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