Palacio Ross, Historical monument in central district of Valparaíso, Chile.
Palacio Ross is a three-story mansion in central Valparaíso featuring stone foundations, reinforced masonry walls, and Oregon pine flooring throughout. The facade displays ornamental reliefs around the entrance staircase with porticos, and the roof is covered in galvanized iron.
Juana Ross de Edwards had the residence built for her brother Agustín Ross in 1888; it was inaugurated in 1890 and he lived there until 1914, when he moved to Viña del Mar. After his death the Banco de A. Edwards acquired it, and from the 1920s it housed the Club Alemán de Valparaíso. In 1929 the club had architects Anwandter remodel it, adding two floors toward Calle Bellavista. It was declared a National Monument in 1976 by Supreme Decree No. 556.
The Club Alemán, founded in 1838 by Valparaíso's German colony and the first institution of its kind in South America, has occupied the palace since the 1920s. Its rooms are named after figures and places: Bellavista, Salvador Donoso, Juana Ross, Hamburgo and Kaiser, and the boardroom hangs portraits of Bismarck, Wilhelm II and Maximilian von Spee.
The building is located in central Valparaíso on Calle Salvador Donoso and is easily accessible on foot. Visitors should note that access to interior spaces may vary depending on events and activities, so checking ahead about opening times is advisable.
The second-floor directors' room holds portraits of three German figures: Otto von Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Admiral Maximilian von Spee, whose squadron was sunk off the Falklands in 1914. The club's third floor now houses Chilean-German bodies such as the Corporación Cultural Chileno Alemana and the Sociedad Alemana de Beneficencia.
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