Chief Points of Interest
Avenida do Rio Branco, the National Library, the Fine Arts Museum, the Cathedral, and the Candelaria Church, the Praças 15 of November, and Republica, the Passeio Publico, the Beira Mar, the Botanical Garden, the Pão de Assucar, and—Corcovado.
It is a great advantage to have selected one’s hotel in advance and to have rooms engaged, as the three leading establishments are a long way apart.
The carregadores who have numbers on their hats may usually be relied upon to bring in time your baggage to its destination. Some haggling over the price is usual, as large fees are demanded; not too large perhaps for those who carry them on foot, but more than an ordinary express company would ask for the same distance. The carregadores carry suit cases and other small packages, several of them, on their heads, at least to the cars, where they must pay their fare. Also it must be said that baggage is not allowed in electrics of the first class (I did once smuggle a suit case) nor—make a note of this—is any man allowed without a coat, however hot the weather. Even on the street a gentleman under no circumstances is expected to carry his coat over his arm. One American who did so was politely accosted by a Brazilian who said, “Man, coat put on!” in the best English he could muster. Two milreis would be charged for two or three pieces of hand baggage to the Avenida Hotel and four or five for a trunk, which would be pushed in a hand-cart; double to the Estrangeiros, less to the Suissa. For the International Hotel, the Express Company must be employed, but with that there may be considerable delay. Each hotel has its own especial merit, which to some minds would outweigh all others and render possible a decision without personal observation; many will prefer to spy out the land for themselves. It has been said that there is no really first-class hotel in Rio, but a Ritz Carlton now being constructed on the Avenida with accommodations for 1200 visitors, will be opened in 1914. As hotels are liable to be full, it is wise to telephone before going to look at rooms.
First may be mentioned the Hotel Avenida, American Plan $5 up, not because it is the best, but as being in the center of things, right on the main business street, the new Avenida Rio Branco. Many lines of electric cars start from beneath its portico and nearly all the others pass within one or two blocks. Naturally it is noisy but persons accustomed to our city streets will hardly mind. This hotel, having a restaurant with all night service and music every evening, is the largest in Brazil. Many English-speaking tourists, however, prefer one of the other two. The Hotel dos Estrangeiros, the Strangers’, is a large establishment facing the Praça José de Alencar, a charming ride of 20 minutes from the Hotel Avenida in the direction of the Assucar, mostly along the boulevard by the sea called the Beira Mar. The hotel is not far, about two blocks, from the water, which may be visible from the upper windows in the rear; in front several lines of cars diverge in various directions. The table is no more than fair, though perhaps as good as any; the price, 12 to 15 or more milreis daily being sufficient for what is provided. Opportunity for sea bathing is near; also for hot and cold baths in a hydropathic establishment. The International Hotel, which seems more out of the city, though reached in about the same length of time from the Avenida, is recommended as cooler in the hot season, from October to April, and is by many preferred at any time, on account of its delightful situation 1000 feet above the sea on the way to Corcovado. Though the ride is but five minutes longer, the cars do not go so often as to the Estrangeiros, which is served by all the cars of the Jardim Botanico Co., these passing in an almost continuous row under the Hotel Avenida. The cars to the International set out once in 20 minutes from the farther side of the Praça de Carioca, a Square just behind the Hotel Avenida; the invisible starting point is around at the back of a certain building. This line, called the Santa Theresa, goes by the rua do Aqueducto over the arches which once bore the aqueduct, across a portion of the city from a hill, the Morro de Sto. Antonio, to that of Sta. Theresa, the latter being rather a ridge extending from the peak of Corcovado. On the steep slope of the ridge the International is situated, where the nights are ever comfortable, while the journey to and fro is always a delight. The hotel has many suites of rooms and bath with hot and cold water, and is a favorite resort with many. At these three hotels the rates are much the same.
Should one prefer a more modest establishment with lower prices, a finer outlook than any save the International, and more conveniently located than any but the Avenida, he may go to the Pensão Suissa, kept by a motherly German Frau, only ten minutes from the Avenida by any of the Jardim Botanico lines, and looking out upon the bay, the Gloria hill, the lovely Beira Mar. The rooms are as neat as possible, so that I was able to reply to a gentleman’s query as to red ants that I had seen none, which seemed to him a great surprise, as he supposed that every dwelling in Rio contained them. The various other hotels and pensions are not without merit and patrons.
One may generally get settled in his hotel in time for the noon meal, though the luggage is not likely to arrive before the middle of the afternoon. Yet the time should be improved, either by sight-seeing in the middle of the city, or if one is tired by a ride to some of the suburbs. A few tourists, caring little for the commercial and business section of the city, devote their entire time to the wonders of the jewel’s marvellous setting. The center of the city should not, however, be ignored. Yet a ride in car or automobile, according to the length of the purse, will be a delightful beginning for the eager tourist. In an auto one may skim over a great part of the city’s boulevards in a single afternoon. Our admiration for these magnificent drives and parkways, unsurpassed in the world in their opportunities for delightsome hours, will be heightened if we are mindful of the astonishing transformation which has here been wrought within the last decade. In 1903 Rio was a dirty, not to say filthy, city of narrow streets, a place to be shunned, as often a hot bed of yellow fever. For its regeneration various plans had previously been proposed, but President Rodriguez Alves was the man who put one of these into execution.
AVENIDA DE RIO BRANCO
BOULEVARD BEIRA MAR FROM PENSÃO SUISSA
The slowness of Latin Americans (in fact of every one but themselves), so favorite a theme in the talk of their northern neighbors, does not appear in this instance. It would puzzle us, I think, to find in the United States any city, save San Francisco when necessity compelled, where by works of such magnitude a great city has so speedily been metamorphosed through the destruction, replanning, and rebuilding of some of the most compact and important business and residence sections. Nearly $60,000,000 was devoted to this great transformation.
The plan which was approved in September, 1903, included the construction of a great quay arranged for ships to come alongside, furnished with storage warehouses, railways, and electric lights, with a parallel avenue 125 feet wide and 2 miles long; the improving of a cross canal to the sea by making it a solidly walled stream, with on each side an avenue shaded with palms; the lifting of the railroad from street level to a viaduct 16 feet above; the construction of a broad avenue straight to the Quinta of Boa Vista, residence of the late Emperor; the increase of the water supply; the renovation of the sewerage system with all modern improvements; the removal of several hills; the filling in of large sections; the widening of a number of streets; and the formation in the heart of the city of a new avenue a mile and a quarter long and 120 feet wide.
The inauguration of the great work of the Avenida Central, as it was originally called, a broad thoroughfare crossing, from one side to the other, the shallow peninsula occupied by the commercial district, on the front of which is Caes Pharoux, occurred March 8, 1904, with the participation of the President and other officials and with much enthusiasm on the part of the people; as a broad outlet for the future traffic of the port was seen to be an absolute necessity. The foundations of the building numbered 2, 4 and 6 being then begun, the great task was swiftly advanced. Day and night was the work pushed; 600 buildings within three months were, by 3000 workmen, utterly demolished, opening a space 230 feet wide: 65 feet each side for the new buildings, 120 for the central paved roadway, and 20 for each sidewalk. Along the center of the avenue a row of 53 Pão Brazil trees was planted in beds 16 feet long, and 55 posts bear each 3 electric lights. On the sidewalks are more trees, and posts for illumination by gas. As the trees grow larger the beauty of the avenue will be increased. Most of the new buildings, which mark the introduction into Brazil of American steel frame construction, are of fine types of architecture in a variety of styles.
In other sections 1200 old buildings were sacrificed to open or widen a dozen other streets, these now from 55 to 100 feet wide, paved with asphalt or in a few cases with fine granite blocks. On all sides new buildings sprang up by magic.
Of still greater magnitude and requiring more time was the improvement of the port, now approaching completion. The stone quay more than two miles in length, with sufficient depth of water to allow ships of any draught to come alongside, is provided with the most modern machinery for hoisting, loading and unloading ships, and with two stations supplying electric power for these as well as for lighting already in service. Back of the wall, a space where formerly were bays and islands has been for the most part filled in, at some points for a width of 800 feet. Then along the quay a broad avenue was opened. A width of 80 feet for railroad tracks, of 110 feet for storage warehouses (called armazem) and for administration offices, is followed by the broad well paved avenue 125 feet wide, bordered with trees and with double tracks for electric cars. To fill in this great space sand was dredged from the bay, and earth was brought from Senado Hill, now completely leveled.
While these great matters were undertaken by the general Government, the new Mayor of Rio, Dr. Francisco Passos, attended to the broadening of other streets, repaving with asphalt or with granite blocks; to the embellishing of the city with gardens, etc., and to the construction of the beautiful boulevard four miles long and 110 feet wide along the water front towards the Pão do Assucar. Even the resurrection of San Francisco in one way seems less wonderful than Rio’s transformation, in that the former was compulsory, the latter voluntary. The greatest work in Rio was more in preparing anew the foundations than in the actual construction. It was, says the Brazilian writer from whom I have already quoted, “the work of an enterprise.” He modestly says that there is nothing especial to say about the buildings of Rio. As to those of a residential character he asserts that some are nice, “but the majority of them is an awful sight reminding antiquity.” To me they did not so appear, the many being pretty and tasteful, if unpretentious, while the dwellings of the poorer classes are less hideous than those inhabited by the poor in our own country.
While the most delightful of the hours spent in Rio may be those devoted to excursions to the suburbs, one should visit also the commercial section, the public buildings, the shops, the market; and traverse some of the streets, wide and narrow, where the life and business of the city go on. A day or two may profitably be spent in the busy marts of trade.
One may set out from Caes Pharoux, to which suitable attention will hardly be given when landing. Here is a great Square or Plaza, in Portuguese a Praça, that of November 15, Quinze de Novembro. At the right as you face the waterfront is the Ferry House for the boats running across to Nictheroy. From here also depart excursion boats on Sunday for a trip around the bay. The Praça has the usual pretty garden in the center, with a bronze equestrian statue of General Osorio, Marquez do Herval, one of the commanders in the Paraguayan War, and also leader of the State forces of Rio Grande do Sul in an insurrection against the first President of Brazil. On the right hand side of the square, as one faces the water, near the Ferry House, is a four-story building more than 150 years old, of typical colonial architecture, once the residence of an aristocratic family, now a lodging house. The large terra cotta building is devoted to the Ministry of Transportation. The two-story pink building, higher in the center, is of greater interest. Erected in 1747 and now occupied by the Department of Telegraphs, it was first the home of the Colonial Governors; on the arrival of Prince João it became his residence, and later served as the Imperial Palace. It was here that the Princess Regent, Isabella, signed the Emancipation Decree, May 13, 1888, as a tablet on the wall sets forth, and from here the Emperor Dom Pedro was taken, Nov. 17, 1889, to be placed upon a warship and banished to Europe, after the proclamation of the Republic, Nov. 15.
On the street, rua Dom Manoel, which separates these two buildings, next to the Ministry of Transportation, is a large green edifice which houses the Naval Museum. This Museum, founded by imperial decree in 1868, was opened to the public in 1884 with inaugurating ceremonies by the Emperor. On the anniversary of the battle of Riachuelo, an important naval victory in the Paraguayan campaign, the museum was first opened in its present quarters June 11, 1898. Free entrance daily, from 11 till 2, except Sundays and holidays. The first section of the museum contains 29 oil paintings of Brazil’s great naval battles, 15 of these by the celebrated marine artist, Chevallier E. de Martino, a protégé of Dom Pedro II, and later named by Queen Victoria Marine Painter to the Court of England. Picture number 5, of the battle of Riachuelo, is considered one of his best works. In the second section are portraits and photographs of the Ministers of Marine and naval heroes, including the British Admiral Cochrane, who also helped the Spanish Americans in their struggle for independence. Becoming Marquez do Maranhão he received a grant of land now held by his heirs. The third section contains models of vessels, from the new Dreadnoughts down to canoes and fishing boats. The fourth contains flags and standards, the fifth, samples of artillery, cannon, and projectiles, the sixth, hand weapons, such as spears and rifles, the seventh, naval and Indian relics and curios, the eighth, medals, souvenirs, etc.
The large Praça has a smaller continuation at the west, facing which, on the corner of rua 7th of September, is the Cathedral, to which a great tower is now being added. On the other side is a larger church which might be mistaken for the official building. Neither is especially handsome, inside or out, both interiors being in an ornate rococo style which may be admired by some. The Cathedral, however, has as a feature of historic interest a slab set in the wall at the left of the altar bearing an inscription in memory of the discoverer, Pedro Álvarez Cabral, whose remains were brought from Portugal and interred in the wall of the tower in 1903.
The Cathedral, founded in early colonial days, with this tower is less overshadowed by the larger Igreja (Church) do Carmo on its right. When the tower foundations were sunk, a stratum of sea sand was struck containing fragments of ancient sea craft, showing that the shore is now greatly advanced. The completed tower will be the highest structure in the city. With clocks on three sides it will carry a chime of bells, the largest of which, weighing 2½ tons, was cast in Portugal in 1621. In the interior of the Cathedral is a fine main altar, back of which is a painting of the Italian School. Sub-altars to the Virgin are on each side of the nave, and one to Santa Rosa de Lima, Patron of South America. Near the main altar is the throne of the Cardinal Archbishop, and formerly there was in front of this a chair of state for the use of the Emperor. A flag carried in the Paraguayan War by the regiment of Volunteers of the country is near the high altar. In the second niche on the right, to one entering, is a “Christ of the Jury,” torn by a mob of Anti-Clericals from its place in the Jury Court. Later a new one was there placed with great pomp and processions.
On the other side of rua 7th of September is a large white building where the Commercial Museum, open from ten to four, may be visited. Business men and others are welcome, and a Bureau of Information is at hand for the service of commercial men and manufacturers. Here may be studied the coffee grades of the world’s great markets, the decisions of the Tariff Commission, 229 varieties of Brazilian vegetable products, including dyes, inks, aromatics, gums, resins, and foods, with many medicinal plants, used among the natives but unknown to the scientific world. Here also are 50 varieties of fibres, 2000 varieties of Brazilian wood, ten of cotton, an exhibition of the process of rubber making, etc.
In the same building is the Instituto Historico e Geographico, a society founded in 1838 with a membership from among the most intellectual men of the country. There is a large collection of rare books and manuscripts, also busts of bronze and marble, and relics of various kinds, one of these the old Roda or wheel used to receive children at the Casa dos Expostos. This hollow wooden cylinder with an opening at the side was fixed in the wall. A baby might easily be deposited within and the wheel pushed around carrying the baby inside, when a bell would ring in the convent summoning the Sisters to receive the child, which was taken charge of and brought up with no questions asked.
To the south of the Praça beyond the Ferry House, and close to the water, is the ever interesting Market Place. Fruits, flowers, birds, meat, vegetables, and people, all merit attention, as do the well constructed booths and the attractive cleanliness of the place.
From this square many lines of electric railways lead in various directions, but it is only a short walk to the Avenida by the street at the corner of the Cathedral, or by several parallel streets. It is better perhaps first to turn to the right and follow the important street, Primeiro de Março, parallel to the bay front. On this street is the Post Office, the Bolsa or Stock Exchange, of Italian style, one of the finest buildings of the city, the Bank of Commerce, and the Supreme Court edifice of beautiful rose-colored stone and marble, sumptuously decorated without and within. The Alfandega or Custom House, of a green color, may be seen from this rua, nearer the shore, on a street of the same name. From the Primeiro de Março many narrow streets lead to the Avenida, which some of them cross, among these the Ouvidor, long the most famous thoroughfare of Rio and still the fashionable shopping street. Now alas! it has received another name, Moreira Cezar, so you may look in vain for the Ouvidor, though every one still calls it by its old appellation. This fascinating little street is hardly 20 feet wide. The narrow sidewalks are almost too smooth and slippery with variously colored tiles. No carts or carriages are allowed in the street, the center of which, well paved, is used by pedestrians. The street is the rendezvous of high life, as well as of idlers, students, politicians, and tourists. Here are the most elegant shops, jewelry, book stores, dry goods, etc., with cafés and clubhouses, some fine buildings, and others poor.
But before crossing by this to the Avenida, the Candelaria Church a little to the north, on a narrow street of the same name, should be visited. This, called the richest church in Latin America, deserves a better location on a broad plaza, rather than here on this little street. The edifice, planned and built by a Brazilian engineer, Evaristo da Veiga, has three finely carved bronze doors, and a rich and elaborate interior. Fine marble columns, a beautiful ceiling with mosaic decorations, and fine paintings by the best Brazilian artists, excite admiration.
CHAPTER XXX
RIO DE JANEIRO—CONTINUED
The Avenida do Rio Branco, so called since the recent death of the famous Baron of that name, formerly the Central, is claimed by Brazilians to be the most beautiful street in the world. Though, from one or another point of view, other partisans may dispute its pre-eminence, there is no question as to its splendid construction and imposing edifices, which for variety and beauty it would be difficult to match within the same distance in any other city. Every style of architecture is represented, Moorish, Gothic, Italian, etc., with varied and lovely coloring. Minarets and towers, unusual mosaic sidewalks, the welcome shade and friendly green of trees, the dashing automobiles, fashionable and beautiful women, men from almost every clime contribute to the wonderful Avenida. Made to order, so rapidly as to take one’s breath, it is indeed a notable, a marvellous achievement: begun in 1904, finished in 1906; and not this only, but the beautiful Beira Mar as well. It seems a transformation by magic. To mention the various attractive buildings is impossible. Many banks and important commercial houses may be found here, buildings of the leading newspapers, the Jornal do Comercio, the Jornal do Brazil, the O Paiz, and conspicuous near the south end, the National Library and the Art Museum on the left, the Municipal Theater on the right, and at the very end on the right the Monroe Palace.
NATIONAL LIBRARY
SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS
The National Library, called the most valuable in South America and, with more than 400,000 catalogued numbers, the largest south of the equator, is housed in a handsome building of the best modern equipment. This was designed and constructed by the Mayor, General Souza Aguiar, after an inspection of the libraries of Europe and America. It contains its own departments for printing and binding. The famous Ajuda Collection, which was brought over by Prince João in 1806, when Napoleon’s army invaded Portugal, was the nucleus. From the old Carmelite hospital in the rua Primeiro de Março it was moved to its own quarters in 1810, when it already numbered 60,000 volumes. All schools and periods of typographic art may here be found, examples of Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer, Aldins and Plautius, Ibarras, Elsivers, and many others. A permanent exhibition has been arranged of Books, Manuscripts and Charts, Engravings and Prints, Medals and Coins. In the rarity of some of its treasures, if not in number, the collection compares with the famous ones of Europe: a perfect copy of the Mazarin Bible printed in 1462, the first from movable type, the first edition of the New Testament by Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1514, a Novus Orbis Regionum with map of Brazil, 1532, a Roycroft Bible, London 1557, and many other rarities. Among the 300 engravings and prints are works of Dürer, Cranach, Rubens, etc. With over 100,000 prints and above 30,000 (many rare) numismatic specimens, a treat is afforded to the specialist.
The reading room, where it should be, on the main floor, is furnished with comfortable leather-covered armchairs and individual desks. In the side galleries around the rotunda are arranged in glass cases many of the especial gems of the rare specimens. In the great stack rooms, I observed many books in English, noticing the names of Mark Twain, Macaulay, Dickens, and others. The finest editions of the various works in handsome bindings seem to have been selected.
The library is open from ten a.m. to nine p.m. with the usual exception of Sundays and holidays.
Other libraries which only the specialist will be likely to visit are the Fluminense with 90,000 volumes, on the Ouvidor, the Libraries of the Army, and of the Navy, that of the Medical School with 70,000 volumes, of the Polytechnic with 70,000, the Senate Library, the Congressional, the Gabinete Portuguez de Leitura, occupying a beautiful building in the rua Luis de Camões near San Francisco Square, the Commerce Library in the Stock Exchange Building, and others.
Next to the Bibliotheca Nacional on the Avenida is the Escola de Bellas Artes, the Art School and Museum. Again the collection of Prince João was the nucleus to which many accretions have been made by Government grant and by private donations. Among original works of the old masters of various schools which are here to be seen are canvases of Caracci, Correggio, Greuze, Guido Reni, Jordaens, Lucas, Murillo, Poussin, Rubens, Snyder, Jan Stein, Teniers, Tintoretto, Van Dyke, Velasquez, Veronese, Wouvermans, and many others, besides more than 100 never positively identified. Among fine pieces of sculpture is one by Rodolpho Bernadelli of Christ and the Adulteress. A large number of productions of Brazilian artists is also included in the collection, which is said to be the largest and most important in South America.
Opposite the Fine Arts Museum is the Municipal Theater, a splendid edifice, facing a small triangular park, with one side on the Avenida.
The theater, like the Colon in Buenos Aires, is fitted up with every modern improvement, mechanical and electrical devices above and below the stage, which seems almost as large as the auditorium, with rows upon rows of floor drops to give the depth desired. A power plant, an air filtering and cooling plant, and what is called the most beautiful restaurant in South America, minister to the comfort of the audience. The restaurant of Assyrian style in details follows Babylonian originals in the Louvre of Paris. The leather-covered armchairs in the auditorium, of unusual width and well spaced, are especially comfortable. The President, of course, is provided with an elegant box, communicating with private salon and dining-room on the floor below. Modelled after the Paris Opera House, though a trifle smaller, it is richly decorated. Designed and built by Dr. Francisco Oliveira Passos, son of the great Mayor Passos, during whose administration the grand transformation of the city was largely effected, the theater was inaugurated in July, 1909, with Rejane and an all star French company. It is now leased to an impresario who must produce each year a number of standard plays, some in Portuguese translation, and some plays by native dramatists, further encouraging national art by conducting a dramatic school. Visitors may be admitted at the rear entrance between ten and four on working days.
At the very end of the Avenue, not far from the Theater and close to the sea, with open space on every side, stands the Monroe Palace, which at the St. Louis Exposition served as the Brazilian headquarters, and here, in 1906, as the meeting place for the second Pan American Congress. It is of a rather florid type of architecture, the most ornate of the buildings on the Avenue.
The Monroe Palace has one entrance on the Avenida and one on the opposite side towards the Passeio Publico. This most ancient of the public gardens of Rio, founded in 1783, contains vegetation from this epoch, hence 130 years old. It has the usual beauties of tropical parks, trees, shrubbery, flower beds, and vines, also several statues, and a pretty building, entrance 1 milreis, housing a collection of native fishes. This Marine Aquarium, installed in 1904, has 20 sections with 35 different species; among these, flying fish, feather fish, turtles, moon fish, crabs, sea-horses, varieties of lobsters, and of marine plants. A pavilion, affording opportunity for rest and the purchase of refreshments, supplies also music and moving pictures. The garden, which is much frequented, was designed by a native artist, Valentina da Fonseca e Silva, more familiarly known as mestre Valentim. The artistic decoration includes two statues, Apollo and Mercury, the arms of Luiz de Vasconcellos, then Viceroy, the bust in the fount of the jacarés, and two granite pyramids inscribed 1783, A’ saudade do Rio e Ao Amor do Publico.
Busts of the poets, Gonçalves Dias, and Castro Alves, and of the journalist, Ferreira de Aranjo, founder of the Gazeta de Noticias, have been placed in the garden. At the main entrance is a gilded bronze medallion of Queen Maria and her consort, Dom Pedro III.
Among the important streets running from the Praça 15th of November across the Avenida, a little north of the Hotel Avenida, are the Assembléa leading to the Praça da Carioca, a short distance from the Avenue, and the rua 7th of September leading to the Praça Tirandentes farther west. The Garden contains an admirable statue, by the French sculptor Rochel, of Dom Pedro I, founder of the empire. Continuing in the same direction, one will reach the large and beautiful Parque da Republica, in a Praça or Square of the same name, of unusual size for a park near the heart of the business section. Here are woods, lakes, and streams with aquatic birds, black and white swans, islands and rustic bridges, a grotto with a pretty cascade, 66,000 varieties of plants, many birds and animals, and some statuary.
All of the parks are characterized by luxuriant tropical verdure.
On the Praça, south of the Park, is an immense building, the Firemen’s Barracks.
To the northwest, facing a paved square, is the great Station of the Central Railway, with tracks running into three different states and to forty or more cities, including São Paulo. Its revenue is more than $10,000,000 a year. On another side of the Praça facing the Park is the Senate House, and the Mint with an imposing façade and some fine ornamentation in bronze. Other buildings on the sides of the Praça are the Ministry of War, the Barracks, the Normal School, the Foreign Office, the Law and the Medical Schools, and the National School of Music.
From the northwest corner of the Park two parallel streets run westward, the Visconde de Itauna and Senador Eusebio, to the Square Onze de Junho, whence they continue at the side of the Canal do Mangue, forming a grand boulevard with two rows of royal palms on each side. This double and channeled avenue has one sharp bend, turning in the direction of the new docks, where the canal empties into the harbor. It is a mile and a half in length, has two tracks for electric cars, paved ways for wagons, and broad asphalt for automobiles, to which the central stream of water with its massive stone embankments and the superb rows of palms add an unusual beauty.
The Zoological Garden, admission 1$000 is reached by electrics of the Villa Isabel line from the Praça 15 de Novembro, a pleasant ride. Some interesting animals are on view, but if time is limited, it may be better employed elsewhere.
From the same Square, cars marked São Christovão go to the National Museum in the Quinta de Boa Vista. The Quinta, a fine large park, deserves a visit, the Aquarium (free) also, even should the Museum be closed, as has long been the case, for the purpose of extensive alterations. The Museum, with other objects has a good collection of archæological and ethnographical specimens. A famous meteorite of unusual size, named Bendigo, was formerly in the vestibule. The great building was earlier the winter palace of Dom Pedro II. It has been proposed to transfer the Zoological Garden to this handsome park.
The various hills remaining in the center of the city, a few have been completely leveled, give variety and picturesqueness to its topography, although interfering somewhat with ease of locomotion and traffic. Of considerable height and steepness, they are slender, so that the way around is not over long; thus in the opinion of the tourist who has an eye for scenic beauty they are not to be regretted. The energetic person with a little time to spare should enjoy the ascent of the four hills which are near the Avenida, and of one or two of those along the Beira Mar. Near the south end of the Avenue, a little back of the Hotel Avenida, is the Santo Antonio hill surmounted by a convent of that name. The main entrance is from the rua 13th of May, in a narrow passage between the Santa Theresa Tramway Station and the Government Printing Office on the left. The ancient and massive structure of the Convent, built rather to defy the ravages of time than to excite admiration for its beauty, has outside walls on the ground floor 4 feet 9 inches in thickness. The vast corridors are poorly lighted. Begun June 4, 1608, the construction was finished in 1615. The hill, originally Morro do Carmo, later took its name from the convent. Of the Franciscan Order, the convent is poor, but the fine sacristy is worth visiting. Here is antique and artistic furniture, such as is rarely seen, carved from jacarandá, one of Brazil’s most valuable woods. Here, too, is a remarkable wainscoting of blue tile, representing incidents in the life of St. Anthony, paintings on wood, a staff done in gold and precious stones presented by the Prince Regent, another from the Governor of Sacramento, now Uruguay, and other curiosities. In 1855 an imperial decree suspended the novitiate of religious orders; by 1886 but one member of the community remained; in 1889, with the establishment of the Republic, religious liberty was ordained, other friars were admitted, and the work of restoration began. In a large saloon of the convent is a stone slab marking the burial place of John Forbes Skellater, native of Scotland, who served the Kings of Portugal as General and Councillor, accompanying H. R. H. to Rio de Janeiro, where he died April 8, 1808, at the age of 76. In an old chapel of the cloisters is a tomb containing the remains of the Prince Pedro Alfonso, son of the Emperor, Dom Pedro II. Several pictures by unknown artists remain from ancient days.
AVENIDA DO MANGUE
The hill on the other side of the Avenue, also south of rua Assembléa is Castello, at the top of which is the Astronomical Observatory with ruins of an ancient church. The easy climb by a narrow paved roadway is well worth making for the delightful view from the summit of the city and harbor below, and the more distant mountains in the rear.
Near the foot of Castello on the east side, facing the bay on the Praia de Santa Luzia is Misericordia Hospital, largest of the kind in South America: a great institution with 57 doctors, 88 nurses and many assistants. In 1910, 12,171 cases were treated besides 154,600 outdoor patients. Among other numerous and notable philanthropic institutions is the admirable Institute of Protection and Assistance to Infants, on rua Visconde do Rio Branco 12, founded by Dr. Moncorvo Jr. in 1901; accomplishing a great work in the surgical and medical treatment of children and mothers, and in propagating information as to hygiene. It received a Grand Prize at the International Exhibition at Rome 1912. Equally if not more distinguished is the Pathological Institute Oswaldo Cruz, also founded in 1901. This, outside the city at Maquinhos, reached by rail or water in 45 minutes, is called the most completely equipped in the world for such work: the study of disease germs, the preparation of serums, etc. Its publications number nearly 100. The smallpox microbe was here discovered.
Near the north end of the Avenida on the same side as the Castello is the São Bento hill, at the extremity of the rua Primeiro de Março, the enclosure of the Benedictine Monastery above being entered by a large gateway at the bottom of a flight of stone steps. Founded in 1591, the existing church was built between 1633 and 1642; the present monastery was begun in 1652. During the French invasion in 1711, the buildings were seriously damaged, and the Order contributed liberally for the French to leave the town. Nearly half the building was in 1732 destroyed by fire. The property, till 1827 belonging to the Portuguese Congregation, was then transferred to the newly organized Brazilian Congregation. In 1909 São Bento became Abbadia Nullius, equivalent to an Archbishopric. It had, in 1912, 20 monks in residence and 6 in the Rio Branco Mission to Indians in the Amazon region. The monastery has, since 1858, maintained a free school for boys, primary and secondary, with 400 pupils now in attendance, and with 500 in a night school. Lay professors assist and many distinguished men have here received their early education. The Order is very wealthy, owning much property in the middle of the city. It formerly owned the site of the Marine Arsenal and the Ilha das Cobras, which was purchased in 1589 by the founder of the monastery for 15 milreis, about $5.00. In the revolt of the Naval Brigade, December, 1910, on the Cobras Island, the Government forces made use of the monastery, which suffered seriously from the return fire. The church, rich in carved and gilded decorations, is worth a visit. It contains some rare furniture, and an ancient organ valuable only as a relic. The sacristy and corridors preserve a large number of old paintings. One of the cells, containing fine specimens of wood work, with a bed formerly used by D. João VI, is for the especial use of the Papal Nuncio when he descends for a few days from his residence in Petropolis. The library of 15,000 volumes comprises many valuable theological works, both in printing and in manuscript.
On the west side of the Avenue, near the same north end, is the Morro da Conceição, easily ascended from rua Acre by a paved way with steps. There are many dwellings on this hill, with the Palace of the Cardinal Archbishop at the top. He prefers, however, to live below in a residence in the rua do Bispo. Offices adjoining the Cathedral, in the 7th of September street, are used for the official work. Adjoining the Palace grounds on the hill top is the Fortaleza, built in 1715. Formerly one of the chief points in the defense of the city it is now used as a barracks for an infantry regiment. The watch towers, old sentry boxes, and the dungeons are of interest. The last have been in use, even since the founding of the Republic, for the imprisonment of political offenders; in 1893-94, British subjects, among others, were here immured. The view from this hilltop over the city is the most comprehensive to be obtained from any central point.
CHAPTER XXXI
RIO DE JANEIRO—CONCLUDED
Too long, mayhap, have we lingered in the heart of the city, longer I fancy than any tourist will do, despite the attractions in the busy marts of trade, and the stately edifices devoted to governmental, artistic, and intellectual purposes. The great charm of the city, the feature which makes it incomparable among the capitals of the world, is the number of delightful excursions practicable to its enchanting suburbs. Some of these may be visited by electric car or automobile, as the length of one’s purse prescribes, others by boat, and one by cog railway.
Most persons will be tempted to improve the very first afternoon by a ride along the front of the bay, on the unrivaled Beira Mar, from the Monroe Palace on the Avenida to the foot of the Pão do Assucar, a ride without parallel, even on the shores of the Mediterranean. This magnificent boulevard invites also to a promenade, for a broad walk guarded by a handsome railing tops the massive sea wall, which rises 15 feet above the wave-sprinkled rocks below. Rarely, indeed, the waves rise higher. July 12th, 1911, a heavy wind blowing from the south not only dashed breakers high above the wall, but with these sent stones weighing a ton over upon the boulevard. Next to the promenade come two wide asphalt spaces, separated by a strip of grass and a row of trees, for automobiles going in opposite directions, thronged towards evening with swiftly moving machines. A garden strip of varying width follows, beautiful shrubbery, brilliant coleas, and other plants with leaves of varied hue, gorgeous red salvias, geraniums, and other showy flowers. Now comes the wide paved street with ample space for ordinary vehicles and for the double tracks of the electric cars.
A few minutes from the Monroe Palace, and almost in front of the Pensão Suissa is the Praça da Gloria where Cattete street branches from the Beira Mar. The very pretty Garden contains two notable monuments: one of these to Pedro Álvarez Cabral, discoverer of Brazil, by Rodolpho Bernadelli, Director of the School of Fine Arts. This monument inaugurated in 1900, the fourth centenary of the Discovery, represents with Cabral the chronicler, Pero Vaz Caminha, and the Franciscan, Henrique de Coimbra, who celebrated the first mass on the soil of South America. The other monument, dedicated in 1902, is a statue of Visconde do Rio Branco by the French sculptor, Charpentier. The ascent of the Gloria hill close by is worth while for the splendid panorama from the summit, if not for the little church above where on the 15th of August is a festival.
Beyond the Gloria hill are finer residences with pretty gardens, distracting attention from the view of the Sugar Loaf in front, the silvery waters on the left, the city of Nictheroy on the opposite side of the bay, and the curving inlets of both shores. On account of a projecting hill the car tracks leave the water’s edge for a space, passing back to the Largo do Machado, where the offices of the railway are situated, the place to go for lost articles. After passing the Hotel dos Estrangeiros, the boulevard is soon regained on the Botafogo Bay, a lovely geometrical curve. Again leaving the shore the car marked Ministro de Agricultura alone returns to the Praia de Saudade, on which the great Hospital for the Insane is passed, the Institute Benjamin Constant for the Blind, and the imposing building of the Ministry of Agriculture, the cars at length pausing in front of the Military School Building, which stands by the ocean shore; we have now passed beyond the splendid Sugar Loaf, so that in the rear of the School Building we should find the Praia Vermelha, a beach on the great ocean. An Aerial Railway now serves for a trip to the tip top of the pinnacle, Pão do Assucar, whence a delightful view is obtained of city, bay, and ocean. The same Praia Vermelha car passes the base station whence an electric basket cable car accommodating twenty persons goes, first to the Morro da Urca, return ticket 2$000, then on to the top of the Pão do Assucar, return ticket probably 4$000. The journey to the top is made in twelve minutes. The distance is nearly a mile.
Other rides partly along the front, or on Cattete street parallel to the Beira Mar, should be taken to the various suburban ocean beaches of Leme, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Gavea, backed by picturesque hills, through which a tunnel or two has been bored for more direct access. Some of the beaches, though rather dangerous for bathing, are more or less patronized. Many people wander along the shore, or in pavilions regale themselves with beer or coffee. Villas of the wealthy and a sprinkling of poorer houses, with several hotels and restaurants, show provision for all classes. Everywhere in the residential districts outside of the more crowded central portion, attention will be continually drawn to the charming homes, some of quite palatial dimensions and elegance, the majority more modest but generally with some pretty ornamentation, all apparently freshly painted in varied and delicate shades of color, pink, blue, green, lavender, pearl, buff, Alice blue, etc., embowered among vines, shrubbery, and palms: an unceasing source of pleasure.
On the way to the beaches by the rua Cattete, before reaching the Strangers’ Hotel, the President’s Palace may be observed on the left. The large garden extends through to the boulevard along the Praia de Flamengo, but the entrance is from Cattete. The exterior of the Palace, which was constructed by the Baron of Nova Friburgo and later purchased by the Government, is not noteworthy, but the interior has magnificent decorations; the garden would be a fitting accessory of a royal palace. Next to the Palace is the beautiful school building, Rodriguez Alves, a suitable monument to the great President of Brazil, in whose administration was inaugurated the tremendous undertaking by which the city has been transformed.
Not far from the Hotel Estrangeiros, a beautiful avenue lined with royal palms, half a mile long, leads to a fine mansion, which in 1911 was the residence of the President.
In a long afternoon of four or five hours the entire circuit of the city may be made by automobile along the Beira Mar on the shore of the bay, then past the ocean beaches to the mountains and by a splendid road along the mountain-side past Gavea and Tijuca, thence across to the waterfront, and by the docks returning to the Avenida Central; a circuit with varied panorama such as no other city of the world affords, to which an entire day might better be devoted.
RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT
BOTANICAL GARDENS
The Botanical Garden, long celebrated as possessing the finest collection of tropical plants among the parks of the world, was founded in 1808 by Dom João VI when Prince Regent of Portugal. At the Avenida Station, a car marked Gavea may be taken about once in ten minutes. The route is at first a familiar one, near the shore of the bay, but turns at length to the west, passing presently under the steep walls of Corcovado on the right and near the shore of a considerable lake, the Lagõa Rodrigues de Freitas on the left, a ride for which the three-quarters of an hour required is none too long. Within the gateway, flanked by small office buildings, one is confronted by a splendid avenue of superb palms, 150 in number, extending in a straight line nearly half a mile. The tree trunks, a yard in diameter at the base, are straight shafts 75 feet high, ere they are topped by their leafage crown. Some distance up, this avenue is crossed by another of 140 palms, a fountain adorning the square of intersection. These palms, with all those forming colonnades in other parts of the city, are descendants of the ancient tree which was planted by D. João VI. The story goes that some Brazilian officers, shipwrecked, were carried to the Isle of France, where was a fine botanical garden. One of the officers, Luiz de Abreu, after gaining possession of several choice specimens, managed to escape with them. Returning to Brazil he presented them to Dom João, who, transferring them to the Garden, planted with his own hands the seed of the Royal Palm. The tree still standing, 130 feet high, apparently destined to flourish for some time longer, is marked by an inscription, and will be pointed out by an attendant if overlooked. It is not, of course, in any of the rows. Besides hundreds of varieties of Brazilian plants, the Garden contains as many from all parts of the world; it maintains close relations with other Gardens, sending to them hundreds of thousands of seeds, as well as making extensive distribution in various parts of Brazil. A delightful section at the left of the entrance is called the Bamboo Salon, where a walk under the feathery archway recalls the aisle of a Gothic cathedral. Of great interest is the traveler’s tree, somewhat resembling a banana plant, of which the sap is like pure cold water. The gentleman who showed me about, kindly cut the stalk with his knife. I drank as the sap spouted forth, and found it indistinguishable from clear water. If the tree would grow in desert regions, what a godsend to the thirsty traveler! The victoria regia with its great leaves, four or five feet in diameter floating on the water is always noteworthy, even if it is not the flowering season, there May or June. Naturally rubber trees of many varieties are to be seen, coffee shrubs, tea plants, and others in profusion, both useful and beautiful, a wealth of vines, but fewer orchids, at least in blossom, than I had hoped. The candelabra tree, so called from its shape, and the cow tree, which supplies a kind of milk better for making cement than for drinking, are of interest. An especial curiosity is one tree growing inside of another, the trunk of the palm being almost completely surrounded by the trunk of another tree of entirely different character, both trees now 30 or 40 feet high.
A number of pretty pavilions, a lake, grottoes, and cascades contribute to adorn the Garden, also several monuments and statues. One of the monuments is in memory of the real founder of the Garden, Frei Leandro do Sacramento, Professor of Botany in the Faculty of Medicine, a distinguished scholar, who on his death in 1829 left the Garden in a flourishing condition. At the end of the central avenue of palms, the monument, Dea Palmaris, was inaugurated in 1906. There are various statues of nymphs, a temple of Nike, a Belvedere, a colonial portico, and the first statue ever cast in Brazil, this in 1783 by Valentim da Fonseca e Silva. In one of the buildings by the gate is a herbarium of great value, as also a library. Even unscientific persons with no especial interest in botany may enjoy a long afternoon wandering in the delightful walks, the charm of which is increased by the wooded steeps and grim cliffs of Corcovado just above, seeing here the side of Corcovado precisely opposite to the one visible from the center of the city. One may leave the Garden in time to continue the short distance to the end of the line to Gavea, where there is a noted spring of water of excellent quality. From a spot called Boa Vista, a short climb, the panorama is superb. The headlands, Dous Irmãos, are at the left, the shores ever beaten by angry waves; in front is the broad ocean dotted with islands, one named Rosa bearing a lighthouse; on the right imposing Gavea, on whose face near the summit may be distinguished lines believed to have been traced by some primitive people. The name Gavea, meaning topsail, is derived from the shape of the summit. Its ascent is possible from the side towards Tijuca and has several times been made.
Corcovado. Most delightful to many of all the days to be spent at Rio will be that which is devoted to the Ascent of Corcovado; nor should it long be postponed. The first clear day or afternoon should be improved, as at some seasons clouds are frequent. Even setting out with a cloudless sky, one may find the goal shrouded in mist, or spread out below a mantle of softest sheen concealing in part or whole the glorious prospect beneath. There is a choice of two routes to the summit: both I strongly recommend; every one should go twice; but with time so limited that a single trip may be made it is desirable to go one way and return the other. The Sylvestre route begins by electric car, starting every half hour from the Largo da Carioca back of the Avenida Hotel. The other, longer or shorter, according to the point of departure, is all by cog-wheeled railway; but the base station is 35 or 40 minutes from the Avenida. One takes here or farther out a car marked Cosme Velho or Larangeiras to the pretty station among the Santa Theresa hills, passing on the way the familiar Estrangeiros and Largo Machado, there turning to the right on Larangeiras, a street as yet unfamiliar. Near the end of the line on the left is the station, return ticket 3 milreis, where one enters a car open at the sides with sufficiently comfortable seats if you face upwards. The track, one meter wide, about two miles long, crosses the valley of the Sylvestre stream on an iron viaduct of three arches, each 80 feet wide, supported on iron pillars with a masonry base, then enters a deep trench, later crossing two more bridges.
At the first station, Sylvestre, those board the train who have come by electrics to this point. The latter, after a few rods of steep grade from Carioca, wind along the side of San Antonio Hill in gradual ascent, then cross on the picturesque double arches of the old viaduct to the outlying hill of the Santa Theresa ridge. Swiftly speeds the car affording but fleeting glimpses of the busy streets and the houses below. Winding along the hillside, soon passing the International Hotel, with many level stretches and moderate inclines, the outlook above or below is enchanting. Any description must fall far short of the reality. The conjunction of a great city with picturesque scenery, pellucid bays, ragged cliffs, and tropical vegetation is unparalleled. One sits enthralled with the vision of loveliness. One’s entire vocabulary of adjectives such as exquisite, entrancing, magnificent, sublime, crowd upon the mind. A short distance away towers the massive Sugar Loaf, its cliffs so steep and smooth that apparently even a fly would find no foothold, unless with a liberal supply of Spalding’s glue upon his little toes. My cry was not “O for the wings of a dove!” but for the pen of my gifted friends, Aked or Gifford, to attempt the glowing description the scenes deserve. Here are trees with great bunches of yellow flowers, somewhat resembling wistaria, but with a very artificial look. Many trees bear large scarlet flowers. One below is covered with white blossoms. Pretty villas and gardens are passed, the dwellings, pink, blue, green, and terra cotta. In bright sunshine smoked glasses may seem desirable to eyes not especially strong. As we skirt the hillside in many curves, the city below is now on our right, the gleaming bay, and curving shore; the next moment the steep slopes or cliffs above; and now we move through a dense and quiet forest. A good carriage road is here by the side of the track. A happy couple is occasionally seen strolling on a sequestered path. In January it was too warm to enjoy a climb, but a leisurely descent would at any time be a pleasure. In winter, June, July, and August, the ascent would be equally agreeable, and the opportunity to pause and enjoy the charming vistas no one could fail to appreciate.
CORCOVADO FROM THE BOULEVARD BEIRA MAR
THROUGH THE CLOUDS, FROM CORCOVADO
At Sylvestre, about 700 feet altitude, where the transfer is made to the cog-wheeled railway, there is a little hotel where a cup of tea may be enjoyed and a short walk taken, unless close connection is made. In this case you must run across the track to the booth where tickets are sold, buying for the round trip unless minded to walk down; an excellent idea, as the time allowed above is short. Descending on foot to Sylvestre a car may there be taken every half hour. The hours of the train on the cog railway should be carefully investigated, as they are few, and vary with the season; on week days formerly 10 and 2, on Sundays nearly every hour but the last descending at 5. Now on the cog-wheeled road, the grade is at times so heavy that if riding backwards you must brace or hang on, lest you slip from the seat. The train is run by electricity with four cables and an engine. Six kinds of brakes may be relied upon in case of accident; they never occur on this line, but occasionally on the tramway. Thick woods and a tangle of vines now mostly shut out the distant prospect, but these are fascinating. Mosses, ferns, and lichens, forest palms, tendril-draped trees with every shade of green, orchids, begonias, and other blossoms, trickling waters, narrow forest paths, sudden glimpses of the shimmering bay, of dark tree-tops, of massive cliffs below, or of craggy peak above, make every moment a delight. At the station Paneiras, alt., 1500 feet, is the Hotel Corcovado, with restaurant service at all hours and comfortable rooms, a resort for convalescents and others. It has a temperature 15° or 18° lower than in the city and delightful shady walks. At a little distance a clearing affords a wonderful outlook. The track ends at the foot of a cliff whence a good path of rather steep grade leads to the summit 100 feet above, crowned by the usual pavilion. This stands quite 2200 feet above the surface of the bay. One hardly pauses here, but descending a few steps goes on to the very end, the brink of the perpendicular cliff on the south side, with a sheer drop of 1700 feet, well protected by a substantial wall with a seat for the feeble or the loiterer. And who would not loiter here, with this beautiful vision spread out beneath! A panorama of surpassing loveliness! Oh, read Miss Cameron’s Involuntary Chaperone! and you may gain some small idea of the enchanting scenes. In afternoon light, in sunset glow, in the quiet evening with the twinkling lights below and the serene moon above, this is a paradise for lovers, a fairy land for all.
The view from Tijuca more beautiful! Who at Corcovado can believe it? Not I! But so some have said. Therefore to Tijuca must one go if possible. The electric cars marked Tijuca, which run from Praça 15th of November along rua Assembléa to the suburb, may be taken for the excursion. The ride is through a very different section, by the Canal do Mangue, then through clean streets, lined by comfortable dwellings of the middle class, some more pretentious with pretty gardens, nearly all painted in delicate shades of gay colors. In the really suburban section are many fine villas, and after a gradual ascent among the hills one descends 6 miles from the Avenida, at a park, alt. 1000 ft., called Boa Vista, on one side of which is a hotel; also an establishment where saddle horses may be procured, perchance an automobile, for the continuance of the journey. These are rather expensive; a carriage for an hour costs 20 milreis, nearly $7.00, an auto of course more. Walks, however, may be taken to many pretty spots. A few steps from the Square is a charming outlook over city and bay. At the farther side of the Square begins the Tijuca forest, and following the road one soon reaches (perhaps ten minutes) a picturesque little cascade. This road may be pursued on foot or horseback in 3 or 4 hours to the top of the mountain; alt. 3300 feet, from which is the superior view above mentioned. Other pretty spots to be visited in a drive of two or three hours are the Grotto of Paul and Virginia, the Grand Cascade, the Chinese View, the Emperor’s Table, the Excelsior, the Solidão, etc. The Furnas at a distance of two miles is a fantastic arrangement of rocks and boulders, where an interesting garden has been established. The road which passes the Vista Chineza and the Emperor’s Table leads down to the Botanical Garden through the rua Doña Castorina. Best of all is to make a day of it by automobile from the city, ascending the peak on foot or horseback, visiting all the points of interest, and taking the glorious ride around by Gavea and the Botanical Gardens on the return.