As Sao Paulo Grows

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 13:15 GMT

Hello Franny,
This is very interesting. Thank you for posting! :)

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 13:32 GMT

Page 663. That picture is great ... the clear horizon ...
You can see this building(left) and here fifth pic . You can also see Praça Ramos De Azevedo surrounded by palm trees.

I just love those signs atop of that building behind The Municipal Theater(right).

Today São Paulo's business district is located at the adjacencies of Avenida Paulista.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 13:50 GMT

"... slender queues at bus stops ...
... horn-blowing automobiles at intersections ...
... gleaming apartment houses, some so new that tenants have not yet moved ..."

Yep ... pretty much the same.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 13:55 GMT

1,200,000 inhabitants in 1939
over 11,000,000 in 2009

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:05 GMT

"The Tietê River ... serves for scarcely more than a week-end playground for rowing small boats..." Not today.

Nowadays it's filthy. It's polluted and the smell, depending on the weather, is not pleasant. It's passing through a cleaning process though ... maybe in the future ... I hope.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:15 GMT

Santos (and other cities in the metropolitan region of Baixada Santista) still attracts holiday crowds from São Paulo. It seems that the paulistanos love to spend their holidays at the beach.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:26 GMT

Hmm ... the odor of "flower of midnight" ... I guess he is referring to Cestrum nocturnum (Dama da Noite) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cestrum_nocturnum. It is fantastic.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:30 GMT

"The holiday spirit under summer skies ..."

Well ... commercial buildings are decorated with snow flakes. Santa, Christmas trees, snowman ... and you may even see some fake snow. There's no summer skies in our Christmas decorations.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:35 GMT

There are no candid-camera men or snake charmers on busy corners. Today you will find pirated DVD sellers.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:40 GMT

That Automatico (page 680)- sandwiches, meats, salads, wines, ... I didn't know it even existed here in São Paulo. Nowadays you could buy a soda or even a book on a machine- nothing like an Automatico- but they are not that common. If you are hungry you may go to a Lanchonete and eat Pastel, Coxinha or a Hamburger.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:41 GMT

Some coffee shops do their own roasting and grinding; some serve their own special blend not always Brazilian coffee beans.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 14:50 GMT

You may still see a lot of jacarandá and ipê trees around here and in flowering season (September/December and July/September - respectively) they add a wonderful touch to the city.

livia: 20th Jan 2010 - 15:16 GMT

The Discoteca Pública Municipal is now called Discoteca Pública Oneyda Alvarenga www.centrocultural.sp.gov.br/discoteca.asp.

It has 45000 78rpm records, 30000 33rpm and over 2500 Cd's. The collection goes from popular and folkloric to erudite music. Books, magazines and over 62000 sheet music are also available.

Franny Wentzel: 20th Jan 2010 - 18:17 GMT

Some of the images rotated for better viewing

Franny Wentzel: 20th Jan 2010 - 23:00 GMT

I wonder if the Discoteca Pública Oneyda ever relented on it's 'no swing, no jazz' policy.