Plaza Sotomayor is the main civic square of Valparaíso, facing the port. The dominant building is the Edificio Armada de Chile — the headquarters of the Chilean Navy, a large neoclassical structure painted in a distinctive terracotta colour. In the centre of the square is the Monumento a los Héroes de Iquique, commemorating the naval officers who died in the 1879 Battle of Iquique during the War of the Pacific. Beneath the square, accessed by a ramp, is a small museum displaying the remains of the Esmeralda — the Chilean corvette sunk in that battle.
The square is the starting point for most walks in central Valparaíso. It connects to Muelle Prat, where boat tours of the harbour depart, and the Ascensor Artillería, which rises to the Naval Museum. The view from the square toward the container port gives a vivid sense of Valparaíso as a working industrial harbour rather than simply a heritage tourism site.