Arica House of Culture

The Arica House of Culture (Spanish: Casa de la Cultura de Arica), also known as Former Arica Custom House, is a building located in Arica, Chile. Designed by Gustave Eiffel's company, it was built between 1871 and 1874, prior to the annexation of Arica by Chile. The building was declared a National Monument of Chile on November 23, 1977, within the category of Historic Monuments.[1]

Arica House of Culture
General information
LocationArica
CountryChile

History

The 1868 Arica earthquake destroyed the earlier custom house, which was built on the same site. As a result, in 1871 the then Peruvian president José Balta commissioned Gustave Eiffel's company to design a building to serve as a custom house, which was inaugurated in 1874.[1][2] It is a prefabricated building whose components were brought from Paris.[3] The building survived the tsunami of 1877.[3]

Following the Battle of Arica during the War of the Pacific, Arica came under the control of Chile, but the building continued operating as a custom house until 1977, and in 1991 it was converted into a cultural center.[2][4]

A renovation project was completed in 2020, which included structural repairs.[4]

Description

Built in the Neo-classical style, the building has a roughly rectangular plan. The exterior walls are made of bricks brought from France, reinforced with ashlar columns. The building consists of a two-story central section with flanking one story wings.[2] The roof structure and the interior columns are made of metal.[1]

References
  1. "Edificio de la antigua Aduana de Arica". Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  2. "Casa de la Cultura, ex Aduana". Arica Mía. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "Casa de la Cultura (ex Aduana)". La Estrella de Arica. 1 September 2004. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. Díaz, Iñigo (10 November 2020). "Aduana y estación de tren: Arica recupera dos piezas de su patrimonio". El Mercurio.

18°28′38″S 70°19′16″W

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