The Palácio Monroe was a monumental hall in the

Centro Centro may refer to: Places Brazil *Centro, Santa Maria, a neighborhood in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * Centro, Porto Alegre, a neighborhood of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil *Centro (Duque de Caxias), a neighborhood of Duq ...

neighborhood in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. It was named in honor of U.S. president

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

. It was originally built in the U.S. city of St. Louis to act as the Brazilian Pavilion during the

1904 World's Fair The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds totaling $15 milli ...

. Following the World's Fair, the building was dismantled and transported in cargo ships to Rio de Janeiro, where it was rebuilt in 1906. Its grand opening at the 3rd

Pan-American Conference The Conferences of American States, commonly referred to as the Pan-American Conferences, were meetings of the Pan-American Union, an international organization for cooperation on trade. James G. Blaine, a United States politician, Secretary ...

was held on July 23, 1906. From 1914 to 1920, the palace was used as the home of the Brazilian Congress. From 1925 to 1960 it was used as the home of the

Brazilian Senate The Federal Senate ( pt, Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords of the British Parliament, but since the Proclamatio ...

. In 1975, the architect and urban planner

Lúcio Costa Lúcio Marçal Ferreira Ribeiro Lima Costa (27 February 1902 – 13 June 1998) was a Brazilian architect and urban planner, best known for his plan for Brasília. Career Costa was born in Toulon, France, the son of Brazilian parents. His fat ...

, who was the national chief of the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

(''Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional'' – IPHAN), created a public controversy by refusing to sign the landmarking act of Palácio Monroe. The building was slated for demolition because of the construction of the

Rio de Janeiro Metro The Rio de Janeiro Metro ( pt, MetrôRio, ), commonly referred to as just the ''Metrô'' () is a rapid transit network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Metrô was inaugurated on 5 March 1979, and consisted of five stations op ...

, but in the face of public and media outcry, the construction company shifted the line to preserve the building. This effort, however, was in vain, because on October 11, 1975, the Brazilian president

Ernesto Geisel Ernesto Beckmann Geisel (, ; 3 August 1907 – 12 September 1996) was a Brazilian Army officer and politician, who was President of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the Brazilian military regime. Early life and family Ernesto Geisel was born ...

authorized the building's demolition and a developer razed the building in March 1976. The decision was contrary to the

State of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo. The state, which has 8.2% of the Brazilian population, is responsible for 9.2% of ...

's decision declaring the building an Official Landmark in 1974. In 1979, the

Cinelândia Station Cinelândia Station ( pt, Estação Cinelândia) is a station on the Rio de Janeiro Metro that services the Praça Marechal Floriano (commonly known as Cinelândia) public square in the Centro neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1979, t ...

was opened as one of the first five stations of the then-new metro network, on the site of the demolished palace.

Gallery

File:Palácio Monroe (funeral de Joaquim Nabuco).jpg, Palácio Monroe in 1910, during the funeral of

Joaquim Nabuco Joaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo (August 19, 1849 – January 17, 1910) was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country. Early life and education Born in Brazil, Joaquim was the son ...

. File:Sight-seeing in South America (1912) (14595357060).jpg, Palácio Monroe in 1912. File:Palácio Monroe (cartão-postal).jpg, Palácio Monroe on a postcard. File:Palácio Monroe (15774001372).jpg, Interior of the Palácio Monroe, showing the Senate floor. File:Demolição Palácio Monroe.jpg, Demolition of the Palácio Monroe in 1976. File:Planta do 1° pavimento do Palácio Monroe, Rio de Janeiro.tif, Plan of the 1st floor of the Palácio Monroe drawn in 1924, preserved in the National Archives of Brazil.

References

External links

Palácio Monroe – Por que foi demolido?
Demolished buildings and structures in Brazil Buildings and structures in Rio de Janeiro (city) Former seats of national legislatures World's fair architecture in Missouri World's fair architecture in South America 1904 establishments in Missouri 1904 disestablishments in Missouri 1906 establishments in Brazil 1976 disestablishments in Brazil {{Brazil-struct-stub