Residential Buildings in Southern Patagonia

Punta Arenas & Strait of Magellan
Panorama from Cerro de la Cruz, c1900

Punta Arenas, founded in 1848 on the Strait of Magellan, became an important re-supply point for trans-oceanic shipping and the economic hub of the region's sheep-ranching industry. The large distances from sources of supply and markets meant that costs were high, and local house-construction relied heavily on the native forests of southern beech.

Residential Buildings in Southern Patagonia