The participants at the SciELO 15 Years Conference will certainly have the chance to visit and stroll along the broad sidewalks of Paulista Avenue (Avenida Paulista) with the thousands of others who come to this street every day. This avenue is a bustling urban landscape at the heart of São Paulo and is very characteristic of the city. The Intercontinental Hotel, the site of the conference, is situated on the street Alameda Santos, only one street south and parallel to Paulista Avenue.
Paulista Avenue is the principal financial, economic and cultural center of São Paulo. It runs between the edges of the Center-South and West zones of the city and has many corporate offices, consulates, hotels, banks, educational and cultural centers, bookstores, several hospitals, cinemas, theaters, bars and restaurants.
Known for its wide expanse, Paulista Avenue has transformed itself in the last few years into a place to congregate, celebrate and hold events. The famous annual Saint Silvester Road Race (a runner’s race) is held there every December 31.
Paulista Avenue was inaugurated on December 8, 1891. It runs for approximately 3 kilometers, starting at the Oswaldo Cruz Plaza where there is a statue of the Índio Pescador (Indian Fisher) by artist Francisco Leopoldo da Silva. It ends at the Marechal Cordeiro de Farias Plaza, also called the Arcos Plaza where one can see the sculpture by Lilian Amaral and Jorge Bassani called “Caminho” or “Arcos”, or even Arco-íris Métalico (Metal Rainbow).
Trianon Park. Picture: Mathieu Plourde.
Two blocks from the Intercontinental Hotel, in the 1700 range of street addresses, is the Tenente Siqueira Campos Park, better known today as Trianon Park. In the 1910’s and particularly in the 1930‘s and 1940‘s, this park was much frequented by intellectuals, and thus transformed itself into a sort of an elitist symbol of the city. Amongst the landscape painters responsible for the project that created this park were Paul Villon and Barry Parker. The park is a lovely green corner of the city of about 48 thousand square meters. Its vegetation is composed of remnants of the Mata Atântica and is a wonderful place to relax away from the traffic and hustle and bustle of the city.
The diverse architecture along Paulista Avenue defines the different periods. There is a record, although minimal, of the period of the great mansions of the 19th century that were owned mostly by the owners of large coffee farms in the interior. One can also note by the more recent buildings of twenty to thirty stories and more, constructed in the decades of the 1950’s up to today, that there was considerable growth, resulting in the replacement of the city’s trams and their carriages with personal cars, buses and a subway (the São Paulo Metro).
Itinerary for a walk along Paulista Avenue
Casa das Rosas (House of Roses). Picture: Delma Paz.
CASA DAS ROSAS (HOUSE OF ROSES) – THE HAROLDO DE CAMPOS PLACE OF POETRY AND LITERATURE
Av. Paulista, 37
The walking itinerary for the Avenida Paulista highlights one of its most significant addresses, the number 37 which, besides being a landmark built at the time of the mansions of the nineteenth century, is today a place for receptions, poets and books. The reference center holds a collection of more than twenty thousand works belonging to the library of the poet Haroldo de Campos, as well as art objects from his personal collection. The house also has an outdoor cafe, a garden covered in roses … red, white, orange and many other colors.
FIESP Building. Picture: Connectionconsulting.
THE FIESP CULTURAL CENTER – RUTH CARDOSO (CENTRO CULTURAL FIESP – RUTH CARDOSO)
Av. Paulista, 1313
The center brings together a wide range of programs in its Art Gallery as well as in the Sesi Theatre and in the Mezzanine. There are presentations of dance and music, among other kinds.
THE ITAÚ CULTURAL CENTER ( CENTRO CULTURAL ITAÚ)
Av. Paulista, 149
Offers the visitor art exhibitions and seminars in literature, audiovisuals, multimedia, etc. It holds a collection of over 30,000 documents about Brazilian art and culture.
Av. Paulista, 901
A well known book store and retailer in electronics and technology, among other products. It also has a specialty cafe on the second floor. NOTE: This is part of the FNAC (France) chain of stores.
Interior of Livraria Cultura. Foto: Sampaist.
Av. Paulista, 2073.
A bookstore with various outlets in the mall “Conjunto Nacional da Avenida Paulista” that you will find at this address. It is one of the most diversified bookstores in Brazil in terms of publishers, both foreign and domestic. It also has a cafeteria, and is a meeting point for readers and academics. NOTE: the online store of Livraria Cultura is a retailer of SciELO eBooks.
Av. Paulista, 509
One of the oldest publishers and bookstores in Brazil. It is highly regarded as a quality publisher since its inception in the 1960‘s.
THE SÃO PAULO MUSEUM OF ART (MASP) – MUSEU DE ARTE DE SÃO PAULO (MASP) ASSIS CHATEAUBRIAND
São Paulo Museum of Art (Masp). Picture: Valéria Peres.
Av. Paulista, 1578
One of the city’s major museums, a historical heritage and national artistic site founded by Assis Chateaubriand. The collection contains paintings, sculptures, collections of prints, photographs, drawings, etc. from national and international artists. It is worth visiting the antique market that takes place Sundays under the open span of the MASP building.
(In the vicinity of Paulista Avenue, right at its beginning) Shopping Pátio Paulista, Rua Treze de Maio, 1947
One of the publishers and bookstores in the country with the most tradition, offering a wide and significant variety of published materials. In addition to books, there are electronics and stationary.
Av. Paulista, 900
A cozy place along the avenue. It is worth checking out its restaurant, the cafe and the small bookshop, and the cinema as well which always has special programs and screenings.
External links
Paulista Avenue – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulista_Avenue
Saint Silvester Road Race – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Silvester_Road_Race
Índio Pescador – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ottone-Zorlini-Indio-Pescador-decada-40.jpg
Arcos Plaza – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pra%C3%A7a_dos_Arcos,_SP_1.jpg
Trianon Park – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Trianon_Park
São Paulo Metro – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sao_Paulo_Subway
Casa das Rosas (House of Roses) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CasaDasRosas.jpg
São Paulo Museum of Art – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Paulo_Museum_of_Art
Translated from the original in Portuguese by Nicholas Cop Consulting.
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