Quinta Normal Park, Urban park in Santiago, Chile
Quinta Normal Park is an urban park of about 35.5 hectares in the Commune of Santiago, Chile, bounded by Matucana Avenue, Portales Avenue and Santo Domingo Street. Its eastern sector, remodelled in 2012 under Teodoro Fernández, centres on a lagoon with pedal boats, a stone-edged reed island, palm trees and a water-play area, with paved walkways and benches around the shore.
French naturalist Claudio Gay chose the La Merced estate for an agricultural teaching and research centre, and the park opened in 1841 under President Manuel Bulnes, run by the National Society of Agriculture. It then covered about 135 hectares. The 1875 International Exhibition brought the neoclassical Exhibition Palace, which has housed the National Museum of Natural History since 1876.
The name combines "Quinta", for estates that paid a fifth of their income as tribute during Spanish colonisation, and "Normal", after the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, since it began as an agricultural teaching centre. Since 2010 the Peruvian community in Chile has held its national day celebrations here.
Access is through several entrances on Matucana Avenue, Portales Avenue, and Santo Domingo Street, with the Quinta Normal metro station nearby. Visiting on weekends means more people and more activities, while weekdays are quieter and better for walks.
The park has fixed grill stations where visitors can cook their food without bringing their own equipment. A shallow water area allows children to play in the water while others paddle nearby in boats.
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