Portal Bulnes, Shopping arcade in Plaza de Armas, Santiago, Chile

Portal Bulnes is a commercial building on the eastern edge of the Plaza de Armas, between Monjitas and Merced streets, designed by architect Jorge Arteaga in 1932. Its ground floor forms a pedestrian corridor: medium-sized shops line the east side, while more than twenty kiosks stand against the west wall. The upper floors hold residences and institutional offices, and the building forms a complex with the Phillips building and the Edificio Presidente tower.

The current Portal Bulnes was designed by architect Jorge Arteaga and built in 1932 on the site of the Portal Mac-Clure, a portal owned by Carlos Mac-Clure that dated from 1869 and was demolished in 1929. The earlier building housed the two-storey Galería San Carlos, covered with a glass roof. The Portal Bulnes forms an architectural ensemble with the Phillips building and the Edificio Presidente tower.

The ground-floor corridor has been a pedestrian shopping passage since the 1930s, when kiosks sold stationery and packaging goods. Around 1945 the traders gradually switched to leather, especially handbags, bags and luggage. The first kiosk holders were mostly families of Syrian immigrants; today their descendants and Chilean leatherworkers run the stalls, some for three or four generations. Locals call it the "paseo de las carteras", the handbag walk.

The arcade runs between Monjitas and Merced streets on the eastern edge of the Plaza de Armas, so it is reached on foot from the plaza itself. The leather kiosks line the western wall of the ground-floor corridor, while clothing shops, pharmacies and banks occupy the eastern side. The upper floors are residential and institutional, so visitors stay on the ground level.

A former Chilean President, Jorge Alessandri, resided in the adjoining Edificio Presidente connected to this complex. This connection to national political history adds a layer of interest for those curious about Chile's past.