Humberstone and Santa Laura Industrial Complex

World Monuments Watch
Iquique, Chile

2004 World Monuments Watch

The rusting hulks of machinery and the deserted ghost towns of the Humberstone and Santa Laura mining complexes are among the last vestiges of the company towns of Chile's saltpeter industry. The Atacama Desert, one of the driest deserts on Earth, is a natural source of sodium nitrate, used for fertilizer and in the manufacture of explosives. The nitrate industry enriched Chile, ushering in an age of wealth and splendor unparalleled in its history. The nitrate boom continued until 1929 when the Great Depression paralyzed the industry, which never recovered when synthetic alternatives to nitrates became available. Today, the derelict industrial sites of Humberstone and Santa Laura, built in the 1870s, are considered national monuments in Chile and are managed by the Niter Museum Association, which seeks to preserve the industrial complexes for public use. Humberstone retains not only its refining machinery and warehouses, but its own town, complete with a theater, church, and hotel. A master plan has been developed to restore the sites; surveys of the existing buildings have yet to take place, however. Public support, bolstered by government and private funds, is necessary if these remnants of Chile's industrial age are to be preserved.

Since the Watch

In 2005, following the 2004 Watch, the site was also inscribed on the World Heritage in Danger List. Progress has been made towards the goals set by UNESCO, and in 2019, the site was removed from the World Heritage in Danger List.

Last updated: July 2019.

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