Rio de Janeiro during the New State
The photographs of Aristógiton and Uriel Malta, children of Augusto Malta, and images of urban interventions in 12 different albums.
Aristógiton MaltaGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The children of the famous photographer Augusto Malta performed the same role as their father: they were the official photographers of the Federal District city council.
Uriel MaltaGeneral Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro holds the Fundo Viação e Obras (Transport and Works Fund), which contains thousands of photographs of the urban interventions undertaken from 1938 to 1946, contemporaneous with the Paschoal Nardone Collection.
Obras para a abertura do Corte do Cantagalo (18.09.1938)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The major renovations in the city
The major works undertaken in the time of Henrique Dodsworth were recorded by Aristógiton and Uriel. In this 1938 photograph, we see the opening of the Cantagalo Court and the road that will become known as Henrique Dodsworth Avenue.
Obras da Avenida Edson Passos, antiga Avenida Tijuca (13.08.1938)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Tijuca Avenue (now Edison Passos Avenue), 1938
Named in honor of then Secretary-General for Transport and Works, Edison Passos, Tijuca Avenue underwent a major transformation aimed at improving the movement of motor vehicles. Exploiting the area's potential for tourism was also an incentive for the improvements.
Urbanização da Esplanada do Castelo (15.03.1941)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Castelo Esplanade, 1941
Section of the Esplanade undergoing construction, where Expedicionário Square is now located. In the foreground is the current Presidente Antônio Carlos Avenue. In the background is the Ministry of Agriculture building, which served as the Pavilion of the States in the 1922 Independence Centennial.
Projeto da Avenida Presidente Vargas (09.06.1941)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The monumental Presidente Vargas Avenue
Following the demolition of hundreds of buildings, including preserved churches with historical significance, President Vargas Avenue was opened in 1944. It has been in existence for over 80 years.
Using the photographs as documentary evidence for the expropriation and demolition of buildings, the photographs of Aristógiton and Uriel Malta reveal this evidence and bring it to life. To the left is the building at 111 Visconde de Itaúna Street. On the right, inside the building: a town of semi-detached houses. The town, building, and street would all be destroyed.
Visconde de Itaúna Street, 1941
In the photograph, we see two workers on a building in the process of being demolished. With the help of pickaxes and explosives, about 500 residential, commercial, and religious buildings were destroyed.
Obras para abertura da Avenida Presidente Vargas (23.10.1941)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Order and... pickaxes
The works associated with the opening of Presidente Vargas Avenue began in April 1941. Churches from the colonial period, such as the São Domingos and the São Pedro dos Clérigos churches, were demolished in 1944, the final year of construction. The Praça XI square was disfigured and the city hall was also destroyed.
Enchente na Praça da Bandeira (29.01.1940)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
The great floods
The Henrique Dodsworth Collection richly documents the floods of 1940 and 1942, which caused disruption throughout the city. In this 1940 photograph, men are helping to push a vehicle in a completely inundated Bandeira Square.
Rua Dois de Dezembro com lama (1942-01-08)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Dois de Dezembro Street, 1942
Residents mobilize to remove mud from the street in the Flamengo neighborhood.
Tijuca Avenue, 1942
Workers cleaning the roadway after a landslide. On the left, wearing a suit, is Alim Pedro, Secretary of Urban Sanitation.
Getúlio Vargas, Henrique Dodsworth e autoridades (06.07.1940)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Getúlio Vargas in the collection
Whether attending the inauguration of works, such as on Edison Passos Avenue, or at official events, such as the one held on November 10, 1937 (the date on which the New State dictatorship period was inaugurated), the collection presents the Brazilian president in different contexts.
International Workers' Day, 1941
President Getúlio Vargas during an event celebrating International Workers' Day (May 1) at Praça XI square, a section already demolished to make way for the avenue that would bear his name.
Henrique Dodsworth e Getúlio Vargas no 10 de Novembro (1941-11-10)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Anniversary of the New State, November 10, 1941
At the microphone, Henrique Dodsworth, Federal District intervener; behind him, Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Minister of War; and in the center, President Getúlio Vargas.
Praça Cardeal Arcoverde (17.01.1940)General Archive of Rio de Janeiro City
Cardeal Arcoverde Square and Leme Slope, 1940
The extensive photographic records from Aristógiton and Uriel Malta allow us to witness the dramatic modifications in Rio de Janeiro's urban landscape. This 1940 photo of Cardeal Arcoverde Square (Copacabana), named in honor of the first Brazilian cardinal, is a prime example.
The album comprises the period from 1938 (one year after the New State was initiated) to 1946 (one year after it ended). The rich documentation is undergoing technical processing so that it can be made available to the public in the future.
Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
Eduardo Paes
Secretary of State
Eduardo Cavaliere
General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro
Rosa Maria Araujo
Documentation Center
Maria Thereza Fonseca
Curatorship, editing and historical research
Conrado Werneck Pimentel
Text revision
Pedro Paulo Malta
Interns
Luísa da Costa de Oliveira and Marcelle Araujo Lins
Film digitization
LUPA/UFF - University Laboratory for Audiovisual Preservation
References
Cidade de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro: terras e fatos.
Aureliano Restier Golçalves
Avenida Presidente Vargas: a fúria demolidora da reforma urbana do Estado Novo na cidade do Rio de Janeiro
Pedro Sousa da Silva
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