MERCADO EL CARDONAL SETTING: City Center Edge
# OF VENDORS: ~250
FORM: Indoor
WAYFINDING: No
LAYOUT: Radial
GOODS CATEGORY: Fruit, Vegetables
FREQUENCY: Daily
The sidewalks on the industrial streets surrounding Mercado el Cardonal are rather quiet. Foot traffic is heavy on the nearby commercial street, but activity fades for a few blocks as you approach the market. But, then you hit it. The sidewalks are packed. Street-facing stalls are open for business, with tables full of fruits and vegetables spilling into the sidewalk. Where the sidewalk meets the road, informal vendors sell more fresh produce from boxes, pallets, or shopping carts, transforming parts of the sidewalk at the market’s perimeter into a crowded twosided outdoor aisle. In some street facing stalls (primarily on the side facing the industrial waterfront), large trucks load and unload massive bins of produce. Unlike many historic urban markets, Mercado el Cardonal is easily accessible to trucks. Medium-sized trucks pull right up to the street facing stalls, some of which have loading bays available. Other trucks park along the wide shoulder of Calle Brasil, which feeds easily into the arterial roadways running up and down the city’s industrial waterfront. Wholesale commerce is a visible part of the activity outside the market. Still, the market has much to offer individual shoppers approaching on foot. Shoppers enter through ornate iron doors on all four sides of the building. The first floor is easily navigable, with wide well-lit aisles and a radial floor plan. First floor vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables. The entire second floor of the building is devoted to cooking and eating. At the top of the stairs, diners are greeted with an informal art exhibit displaying large photographs of the market, including portraits of vendors and shoppers. Restaurants on this floor beckon every passing person inside, offering affordable multi-course lunches. Seating areas are located around the perimeter of the building, and diners enjoy a view of the city through huge antique windows.
Mercado Cardonal is inside an historic market building easily accessible to the port and the central business zone of the city.
The first floor of the market is full of stalls offering fresh produce.
The second floor of the building is home to dozens of tiny restaurants where shoppers can enjoy prepared food and a view of the street below. PAGE 79 | VALPARAISO, CHILE