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 municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...

near the

Luz station The Luz Station ( pt, Estação da Luz, ) is a railway station in the Luz neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil. The station is part of the metropolitan rail system run by the CPTM. The station houses the Museum of the Portuguese Language, estab ...

and Avenida Tiradentes in the Bom Retiro district of

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 GaWC a ...

. The headquarters of the

Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo The ''Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo'' (Portuguese for "pinacotheca (picture gallery) of the state of São Paulo") is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. History The museum is housed in a 1900 building in Jardim da Luz, Downto ...

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, an ...

, 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 (, English: Great Theatre of the Lyceum), known as ''El Liceu'', is an opera house in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Located in La Rambla, it is the oldest running theatre in Barcelona. Founded in 1837 at another loca ...

, 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) {{Brazil-protected-area-stub