Jardim da Luz (also: Praça da Luz or Parque da Luz) is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

near the

Luz station Luz Station (, ) is a commuter rail and intercity rail station in the Bom Retiro (district of São Paulo), Bom Retiro district of São Paulo, Brazil, serving RFFSA, the intercity rail network of Brazil, Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos ...

and Avenida Tiradentes in the Bom Retiro district of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. The headquarters of the

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo The Pinacoteca de São Paulo (Portuguese for "pinacotheca (picture gallery) of the state of São Paulo") is a visual arts museum focused on Brazilian art from the 19th century to the present day, in dialogue with various cultures from around th ...

is located in the southeastern corner of the park.

History

Originally created in 1798 as a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, the garden was transformed into a public park only in 1938, initially only serving as a big pasture for cattle and cows. In 1900 was inaugurated the headquarters of

Liceu de Artes e Ofícios de São Paulo The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...

, a building that nowadays holds the Pinacoteca do Estado. During a big part of the 20th century, Jardim da Luz passed through a period of severe degradation, serving as a zone of prostitution and drug trafficking. The state government has since revitalized the central region of the city through a series of reforms, including installation of sculptures in the park, a remodel of the Pinacoteca do Estado, and increased police supervision of the area.

Sculptures

References

Parks in São Paulo Protected areas of São Paulo (state) Long stubs with short prose {{Brazil-protected-area-stub