La Moneda Palace 4.96

Palacio de La Moneda, or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secretariat of the Government. It occupies an entire block in downtown Santiago, in the area known as Civic District between Moneda (North Side), Morandé (East), Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins (South) and Teatinos street (West).HistoryLa Moneda, originally a colonial mint (moneda means coin or currency), 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 Chilean Air Force bombarded the palace at the request of the army. Reconstruction and restoration projects were completed on March 11, 1981, although some bullet marks have been preserved and can still be seen today. During the 1973-1980 restorations, an underground office complex (the so-called "bunker") was built under the front square to provide a safe escape for General Augusto Pinochet in case of an attack.