Parque Glória Maria, Park and cultural center in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Parque Glória Maria is a public park and cultural center in the Santa Teresa neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It sits on Rua Murtinho Nobre and brings together old stone walls, open-air stages, two galleries, and terraces with views over Guanabara Bay.
The site was built on the remains of the Palacete Murtinho Nobre, an 1898 mansion that belonged to socialite Laurinda Santos Lobo and served as a gathering place for artists and writers during the Belle Époque. The building fell into disrepair over the 20th century before the city of Rio de Janeiro secured the ruins and reopened the site as a cultural center in 1997.
The park was renamed in 2023 to honor Glória Maria, one of the first Black women to work on national television in Brazil. She filmed reports here during her career, and her name on the entrance gives the place a meaning that goes beyond a simple green space.
The park is open Wednesday through Monday and entry is free for all visitors. Public transport stops nearby, and the surrounding Santa Teresa streets are easy to walk through.
The renovation of the site was led by architects Ernani Freire and Sônia Lopes, who chose to keep the old ruins visible rather than cover them. Visitors who look closely can still tell the original walls of the Palacete apart from the newer glass and metal additions.
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