São Paulo in Black and White

A pedestrian crosses Paulista Avenue, the first street in the city to be paved. Opened in 1891, Paulista Avenue is now home to one of Brazil's main financial centers. It often features on the city's picture postcards.

A view of the tunnel on Nove de Julho Avenue, one of the main access routes linking São Paulo's South Zone with the city center. With a separate tunnel going in each direction, it was built beneath Paulista Avenue and opened on July 23, 1938.

The facade of the Othon Palace Hotel, one of the most famous hotels in São Paulo's old town at the time. The building opened in 1954, just months after São Paulo's 400th anniversary celebrations on January 25.

One of the busiest parts of the city, República Square (Praça da República) was originally known as Largo dos Curros—or Pen Square—as it had been the site of bullfights during the 19th century.

Firefighters keep an eye on Luz Station (Estação da Luz) in downtown São Paulo after a fire spread through the building. The station only reopened in 1951, when rebuilding works were complete. Originally built as a gateway to the city, it opened as a passenger station in 1902.

Passengers wait for a train to arrive at Luz Station. During the 19th century, it was the entry point for goods coming from the Port of Santos on the state's coast.

A view of Jardim da Luz Park. The oldest park in São Paulo, it was created in 1798, when it was known as the Horto Botânico (Botanical Orchard).

Construction of the new Assis Chateaubriand São Paulo Art Museum on Paulista Avenue. Opened in 1946, the museum was originally housed in a building on 7 de Abril Street before moving to its new home, designed by the Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, in November 1968.

A view of João Mendes Square in downtown São Paulo. Opened in 1757 with the name São Gonçalo Square (Largo de São Gonçalo), it is today home to Brazil's largest civil court, the João Mendes Forum.

The facade of the church of São José de Anchieta in the Pateo do Collegio. The square marks the city's birthplace in 1554, as the spot chosen by the Jesuit priest Father Anchieta to build a church where the local Indigenous population would be converted to Catholicism. All that remains of that original building is a wall made out of mud and clay.

The monument built in honor of the founders of São Paulo stands in Pateo do Collegio square. It was designed by the Italian Amadeo Zani and unveiled in 1925.

A view of Roosevelt Square in the central São Paulo neighborhood of Consolação, 16 years before the square was completed in 1970.

A crowd opposite the Mário de Andrade Library for a vigil for the author Monteiro Lobato, who died on July 4, 1948. Founded in 1925 as the São Paulo Municipal Library, the Mário de Andrade is the city's largest public library.

Fans queue outside the Paulo Machado de Carvalho Municipal Stadium—better known as the Pacaembu Stadium—to watch a soccer friendly between Brazil and the former Czechoslovakia. The stadium was opened by the mayor in April 1940.

People enjoy themselves in Ibirapuera Park, one of São Paulo's most visited leisure spaces. Built to host the celebrations for the city's 400th anniversary in 1954, the park was designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer and is considered a milestone of modern Brazilian architecture.

Earthworks at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo's South Zone. The airport opened in 1936 and was the third largest in the world in terms of air cargo volume by 1957.

Trucks coming into the city from inland São Paulo and elsewhere unload their goods at São Paulo's Municipal Market (Mercado Municipal). Located in downtown São Paulo and also known as the Mercadão (meaning big market), it is one of the city's main food wholesale centers.

A train runs through a street market on Cruzeiro do Sul Avenue in the Santana neighborhood. Known as Cantareira Avenue until 1932, the road is one of the main thoroughfares linking São Paulo's North Zone with the downtown area.

A streetcar crosses the Casa Verde Bridge in São Paulo's North Zone. The current concrete bridge was built in the 1950s to replace the original wooden structure, which dated from around 1915.

Opened in 1967, the viaduct is located on the Radial Leste, the main thoroughfare linking São Paulo's East Zone with the downtown area.

The Canindé favela sprang up in 1948 on a piece of land belonging to São Paulo's City Hall (Prefeitura), becoming home to families who were driven out of privately owned areas. It featured in Quarto de Despejo (The Trash Room), the autobiography by Black female author Maria Carolina de Jesus, which describes the daily life of poverty in there.