Overview
This museum is designed to educate about Santiago’s history, the capital of Chile, about the territory in which it lies and its historic importance. The rooms explain the city’s development, from pre-Inca times up to the turn of the 20th century.
The Tinted House was built in the 18th century for the President of the first Government Junta, Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, and is a faithful witness to the colonial period in the capital. It was declared a National Monument in 1960.
History
La Casa Colorada was built between 1769 and 1779 as the residence of Mateo de Toro y Zambrano, who was to become notorious for being the President elect of the First Government Junta, established in 1810.
In its day, it was the only private building fitted with a stone clad brick front on the first level with two floors. The ground floor had the typical structure of the period. There used to a first hard paving patio at the entrance from the street through the entrance hall. This was surrounded by single floor constructions where the provisions and products of the estate were kept. The part of the building overlooking the street has two floors and was the first to be devoted to the trading activities of the family group. Likewise, a central single floor construction, which included the living room, stables and anteroom, marked the transition from the semi-public areas on the first patio and the private area for the family, on the second floor. This patio, ornamented with ivy, flowers and trees, used to be surrounded by corridors.
The building as it now stands differs from the original construction in that on the two floors overlooking Calle Merced still remain. The main front is made up of a center formed by the two tiered gate.
The Museum of Santiago is in the process of being restored and in the following video you can see some advances of that work.
Merced, 860, Santiago.