Circles




The circles respond to a group of interiors characterized by a function of sociability. They are spaces that enabled conversation and socialization between individuals, also playing a leading role in the construction of gender, class and ideology of a group or circle. In this family of interiors, the clubs formed the most private, regulated and restricted example, consequently, more firmly built identity ties and symbols of belonging, which could be from the elite or popular. On the other hand, the coffee lounges represented and important place for conversation, meeting and reflection normally associated with writers and intellectuals. Added to them were theaters and cinemas, which shared a more explicitly performative function related to spectacle.


The club
The coffee
The theater
The cinema








Azotea. Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Sala de billar.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Sala Baccarat.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Vista exterior Club de la Unión.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Acceso principal por calle Alameda.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Comedor de honor.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Cocina.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)
Sala de billar, Club de la Unión .
Gimnasio, Club de la Unión.
Hall, Club de la Unión .
Comedor, Club de la Unión.
Sala circular.
Álbum del Club de la Unión (1926)

Teatro Huemul

The history of the theater is deeply linked to the population that surronds it. Designed as a model of the working-class population, the theater played a central role as a piece of social encounter. Inaugurated in October 1918 by President Juan Luis Sanfuentes, it was one of the first buildings in Santiago built on cement blocks. Since then, it has had a long history of events inside, from a supposed Gardel concert in the 1920s to the NO Strip in 1988.