Historic clubs are found along the full length of Chile. (Base map: Google Maps.)
Chile has been an independent nation since 1818, with its mainland spanning 4,000 miles of Pacific coastline. Riven by civil wars in the mid-19th century, the last of these ended in 1859 - and by the 1860s, a club culture began to emerge. These have several European influences. Some follow the Spanish (non-gambling) ‘casino’ model, which is little surprise given the enduring cultural links after centuries of Spanish colonisation. Other Chilean clubs cater to the German expatriate population, not only reflecting the large German community that migrated to Chile in the mid-19th century, but also reflecting the large, lost world of 19th century German clubs - which vanished after 1933. And some of Chile’s clubs are very consciously modelled on the English clubs. Interestingly, the historic clubs of north America do not appear to have been much of an influence - despite being geographically closer to Chile than their European counterparts.
The Palacio Ross, which has for the last 99 years been the headquarters of the Club Alemán de Valparaíso, itself dating to 1838. (Photo credit: Club Alemán de Valparaíso website.)
The country saw two large waves of German immigration - in the mid-19th century, and in the mid-20th century - and the first of these left its mark in a string of expatriate German clubs, several of which survive today. One of them, the Club Alemán de Valparaíso, is the oldest club in the country, founded by 27 local Germans in 1838. Its original name, the Deutscher Verein, is somewhat surprising given a greater German state would not exist for several decades; and so at the time, Germany remained more a political idea than an established reality. After moving premises several times, including due to fire, they finally settled in 1926 on their present location at the Palacio Ross, built in 1886, which is now a heritage monument. The Club underwent difficulties in the 1940s due to the widespread blacklisting of ex-pat German businessmen during World War II, even though Chile was officially neutral; but it boomed amidst the wave of post-war German migration to South America. In more recent years, its membership has dwindled somewhat. Further south, in the region of Los Lagos are two further, smaller historic German Clubs, the Club Alemán in Puerto Montt, dating to 1860, and the Club Alemán in Osorno, dating to 1862.
Salon Independence (“Independence Hall”) in the Club Naval of Valparaíso. (Photo credit: Club Naval website.)
As well as hosting Chile’s original Club Alemán, Valparaíso has another notable club. As the headquarters of the Chilean navy and its naval academy, the city has hosted the Club Naval since 1885. Echoing the model of single-service London clubs like the (former) Guards Club, and the (current) RAF Club, this encompasses all officers of the Chilean Navy, and is housed in its original purpose-built clubhouse.
The Club Viña del Mar’s historic clubhouse. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.)
Greater Valparaíso also contains the nearby city of Viña del Mar, which includes the Club Viña del Mar, dating to 1901. This was the brainchild of local businessman Don Jorge Borrowman Osman. The present building dates to 1910, and was commissioned by the Club to replace it original clubhouse, that had been devastated by the earthquake of 1906.
The main lobby of the Club de la Unión of Santiago. (Photo credit: Tripadvisor.)
Chile’s capital of Santiago offers half a dozen historic clubs. The oldest of them is the Club de la Unión, dating to 1864, which as been based in the same mansion for exactly a century, with it being declared a national monument in 1981. The Club’s first President was Manuel José Yrarrázaval Larraín. It remains a men-only club.
Santiago has its own ‘Clubland’ scattered across the city. (Base map: Google Maps.)
The city’s equestrian culture is catered for by the Club Hipico (riding club), founded in 1869. As well as providing full club facilities, it is a working riding club, including a race course, stud and veterinary clinic. Out in the eastern suburbs is the decidedly Anglophile Prince of Wales Country Club, named in honour of the then-Prince of Wales (who later became Edward VIII), in 1925. Its distinctive clubhouse, in a mock-Tudor style, is surrounded by English gardens. Another club from the same era is the Club de Carabineros, dating to 1927. It is an army officers’ club, which also admits senior NCOs. And in a similar mould is the Club de la Fuerza Aérea (club of the air force), dating to 1959, for current and former air force officers. More recent clubs in the capital include the Club Militar founded in 2003, and the Club 50, a business club.
The club restaurant of the Casino Español de Iquique. (Photo credit: Wikimedia Foundation.)
In the north of the country, the province of Tarapacá contains the city of Iquique. Its principal club is the decidedly Hispanophile Casino Español de Iquique. It was originally founded in 1890 as La Estudiantina Española (Spanish Student Association), before being renamed two years later as the Sociedad Recreativa Casino Español, to reflect a wider emphasis on the city’s expat Spanish population. The building dates to 1904, is entirely built of pine wood in the Moorish style, and embeds murals by the artist Sixto Rojas Acosta. Also in the north is the provincial capital of Antofagasta. Its Club de la Union dates to 1906. Both of these northern clubs follow the traditional Spanish model of having a public-access restaurant embedded into an otherwise private club, allowing visitors to sample their culinary wares.
The Club Concepción. (Photo credit: Club Concepción Facebook group.)
Turning to the south of Chile, and the region of Bío Bío, the regional capital of Concepción is Chile’s second-largest city, and houses the historic Club Concepción, dating to 1867. Consciously modelled on the English clubs, with a charter embracing business as well as sociability, it remains a men-only club. The present building dates to 1942, after the destruction of the previous one in the 1939 earthquake. Also in Bío Bío is the Club de la Union in Los Ángeles, founded in 1889, and occupying an art deco clubhouse from 1931.
The Club de la Union’s clubhouse in Punta Arenas. (Photo credit: Radio Polar website.)
Finally, if we visit the southernmost region of mainland Chile, Magallanes y Antártica Chilena, and the city of Punta Arenas - the last stopping-off point for supplies of ships bound for the Antarctic - we can see what is the southernmost club in the world: the city’s Club de la Union, founded in 1890. Occupying the Sara Braun Palace completed in 1905, it has been a heritage monument since 1981.
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