Friday, November 16, 2012

Rua Vicente Prado, 4 - Bela Vista

crossing Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio from Rua Condessa de São Joaquim towards Rua Vicente Prado, where I used to live with my family from 1969 to 1976.
Art-Deco building on the corner of Avenida Brigadeiro Luiz Antonio & rua Vicente Prado.
Isn'it amazing how sturdy these constructions are? This building must have been built in the 1940s and it is still strong. 
same corner, left-hand side. This house has been renovated but has been unocuppied ever since.
entering Rua Vicente Prado -a one-block narrow street that leads to Rua Humaitá.
going further down Memory Lane... these house entrances & front gardens have all gained fences and walls to protect their inhabitants. In the 1970s they had normal fences, but due to deterioration of Brazilian social fabric people have been living within walls most of the time.

see this two-story house on the right? It has been added a whole new floor and the result is ugly! That used to belong to a Judge, our next-door neighbour.
Rua Vicente Prado, 4...  the street numbering has changed since then to 74; apart from the tiles and the iron bars on both windows it is the same as it used to be in the 1970s when we used to live there.
still the same gate, still the same door... it makes me think that I might ring the bell and my dearest Mother would anwer the door...
here's another look at the ole house... Now it belongs to a trade-union...
the wall on the right is still the same. There used to be a smaller house at the back which has been pulled down... but the little 'shed' on the other street is still the same one...
as there were a few police cars blocking the street I decided to stop my photographic reportage... but it is sad to know that decay has set in... it is a shame São Paulo is in such bad shape...
All the photos above were taken on 15 November 2012.

a Bela Vista street a long time ago...
Cine Rex circa 1942, on Rua Ruy Barbosa, 368;  'Rebecca' with Joan Fontaine & Lawrence Olivier was all the rage... and Art Deco reigned supreme.

No comments:

Post a Comment