Praca de Arte | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 26 (4 OF 4) – LUZ STATION AND AREA, SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

The Luz area was once an important commercial area of Sao Paulo during early 20th century when coffee was still the single most dominating business in the city. Since then, most of the commercial activities, including the coffee barons, had moved elsewhere in the city. Today the Luz area awaits for its turn of revitalization after decades of decline. Historical buildings and churches in Luz all seem a little neglected and most were vandalized with layers of graffiti. In recent years, the municipal government began to regenerate certain spots in Luz, including renovating the Luz Station, the Pinacoteca do Estado, and the Jardim da Luz.
Before heading to Luz, we stopped by the newly built Praca de Arte, a cultural complex in the heart of the old downtown Sao Paulo. The project represents another effort to revitalize the downtown of Sao Paulo. 15-minute walk from Praca de Arte got us to the Luz Station. The Luz Station was the most important railway station in Sao Paulo when the coffee industry dominated the area of Luz. Now, it houses a museum and serves a few commuter trains to the suburbs. Designed and fabricated in England, the Luz Station and its clock tower was an icon of Sao Paulo in early 20th century. Across the street from the station stands the Pinacoteca do Estado, Sao Paulo State’s oldest art museum that underwent a renovation by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha in the 1990s. The adjacent Jardim da Luz also went through a significant transformation in recent years from a seedy area where drug dealers and prostitutes hang out to a relaxing sculpture garden adjacent to the art museum.

Praca de Arte and area (below 4 images)