Formerly called Calle Santiago de Azócar.
It was on this street that Pedro de Valdivia settled Inés de Suárez on a plot of land. It was here too, on the current location of the Santiago Fire Department, that one of the first prisons was set up.
The street got its name after the Dominicans installed their convent and first church here. However, it was only in the 18th century that it reached its prime.
Due to the overflowing of the Mapocho River in 1738 and the destruction of the residences in the sector, traders took over this central area, building residences and grocery stores, one next to the other. Business news would intensify between the streets called Puente and Morandé, from eleven in the morning till siesta time.
The street became famous for its political socials. Francisco León, a friend of Bernardo O’Higgins, made available his rooms to the Lautarina Lodge, a libertarian society of the greatest importance for the independence of the continent.
The street ended on the west at the junction with Teatinos, a corner where the first brick built house, known as La Bastille, was erected in 1789. It was here that the first mail service of the Republic was established. A further attraction of the street was its bocce ball court. Instead of throwing the ball with the hand, players would use hammers made of guayacán wood, scoring up points whenever the ball went through an iron hoop.
Photography. Lorena Bruna, Tour Guide