The Luz Station ( pt, Estação da Luz, ) is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

in the Luz neighbourhood in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The station is part of the metropolitan rail system run by the

CPTM , owner = São Paulo State Government , area served = Greater São Paulo, Brazil , transit_type = Commuter rail , lines = 5 , line_number = , s ...

. The station houses the

Museum of the Portuguese Language The Museum of the Portuguese Language ( pt, Museu da Língua Portuguesa, , ) is an interactive Portuguese language—and Linguistics/Language Development in general—museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is housed in the Luz Station, Estação da Luz ...

, established in 2006. The Luz Metro station is also located within the complex.

History

The station was built in the late 19th century with the purpose of being the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of the newly founded São Paulo Railway. In the first decades of the 20th century, it was the main entrance to the city, a fact that gave it a major economic relevance, because the majority of the

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

from Santos was delivered in the station, along with the imported supplies. Guilherme Gaensly - Estação da Luz, c

The current building was finished in 1901. The materials for its construction were brought from UK. The station was designed and produced by Walter Macfarlane & Co.

Saracen Foundry The Saracen Foundry, Possilpark, Glasgow c.1890 The Saracen Foundry was the better-known name for the Possilpark, Glasgow–based foundry company W MacFarlane & Co. Ltd, founded and owned by Walter MacFarlane. MacFarlane's was the most important ...

, Glasgow. The station was assembled in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, then disassembled and sent to São Paulo where it was reassembled. The building was designed by the British

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Henry Driver Henry Driver (1831–23 Jan 1893) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Otago, New Zealand. He was born in the United States, but as a young man emigrated to Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australi ...

Fire

* In 1946, the station caught fire and during the rebuilding process, a new floor was added to the building. Since then, the rail transport in Brazil started to decline, the same happened with the Luz neighbourhood. Both factors led to the degradation of the station. However, in the 1990s, the station was repaired. * On December 21, 2015, the station suffered a major fire that started at the ''Museum of the Portuguese Language''. The fire devastated the station's major building, and claimed one

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions als ...

life.

Cultural influence

The station is a remnant from the period when the coffee was a major source of income to the city. For decades, the station tower dominated the city's skyline and its clock was the reference to the other clocks in São Paulo. At its height, in the early 20th century, when the Luz neighbourhood was an important part of the city, the station was part of an architectonic block that was a major reference inside the city. The station helped to build the city's image. With the construction of the

São Paulo Metro The São Paulo Metro ( pt, Metrô de São Paulo, ), commonly called the ''Metrô'' () is one of the urban railways that serves the city of São Paulo, alongside the São Paulo Metropolitan Trains Company (CPTM), forming the largest metropolit ...

, during the 1970s, the monument to Ramos de Azevedo, a major landmark in the nearby zones, radically changed the image of the landscape, granting, however, a greater sense of monumentality to the station.

References

* Jorge, Clóvis de Athayde. ''Luz – Notícias e reflexões''. Departamento do Patrimônio Histórico. 1988 * Elias, Maria Beatriz de Campos (dir.). ''Um século de Luz''. Editora Scipione. 2001 * Toledo, Benedito Lima de. ''São Paulo: Três cidades em um século''. Editora Cosac e Naify. 2003. {{Authority control Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos stations Railway stations in São Paulo Railway stations opened in 1901 Tourist attractions in São Paulo Charles Henry Driver buildings National heritage sites of São Paulo (state) 2015 disasters in Brazil 2015 fires in South America Museum fires Demolished buildings and structures in Brazil Fires in Brazil Museums in Brazil Burned buildings and structures in Brazil

History

Fire

Cultural influence

See also

References