Quinta Normal Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in the city of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The park is in a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, or district of the same name,

Quinta Normal Quinta Normal is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is named after a large park in the area. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quinta Normal spans a ...

. The park is bounded by Matucana Avenue to the east, Portales Avenue to the south and Santo Domingo Street to the north. It is home to several museums, including the

Chilean National Museum of Natural History The Chilean National Museum of Natural History ( es, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, links=no or ) is one of three national museums in Chile, along with the Museum of Fine Arts and the National History Museum. It is located in Quinta Normal P ...

. Near the park is the

Museum of Memory and Human Rights The Museum of Memory and Human Rights (in Spanish: ''Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos'') is a museum in Santiago, Chile, which commemorates the victims of human rights violations during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet ...

. The park is also near a public library. The park can be accessed by the

Santiago Metro The Santiago Metro ( es, Metro de Santiago) is a rapid transit system serving the city of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It currently consists of seven lines (numbered 1-6 and 4A), 136 stations, and of revenue route. The system is managed by th ...

via the

metro station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the ...

that bears its name. The park was founded in 1841 for greenhouses to cultivate foreign plant species. The park is . The park is home to a railroad museum. The park is a place for children with a new water feature that children can play in and paddle boats. At the back of the park there are standing grills that anyone can use, to have a barbecue. In 1875 it was the site of the

Chilean International Exhibition The Chilean International Exhibition was a world's fair held in Quinta Normal Park, Santiago, between 16 September 1875 and 16 January 1876 to show Chilean people recent technological and scientific advances. Organisation The event was organised ...

. Across the street from the north side of the park lies the Sanctuary of Lourdes, which includes a

Lourdes grotto The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes () is a Catholic Marian shrine and pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The sanctuary includes several religious buildings and monuments around ...

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Parque Quinta Normal
Book about the agricultural history of the park
Urban public parks Parks in Santiago, Chile World's fair sites in South America