Galeria Chaves, Commercial gallery in Historic Downtown, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Galeria Chaves is a five-story building in the historic downtown area standing between Rua dos Andradas and Rua José Montaury. The facade features Renaissance-inspired design with granite columns, ornate window arrangements, and stone powder cladding, while the interior is lit by a glass skylight above a decorated tile floor.

The building was commissioned by the Chaves Barcellos family in 1936 with design by architect Fernando Corona. Construction was carried out by the Azevedo, Moura & Gertum company, creating a notable addition to the historic downtown.

The gallery is named after Pedro Chaves Barcellos, of the family that commissioned it. Its ground-floor shops now mostly sell CDs, while the mezzanine rooms that once held medical offices house restaurants. The Fundação Vera Chaves Barcellos, an art foundation, has one of its headquarters here.

Visitors can enter through two different doors and use wrought iron elevators or the main staircase to reach upper floors. These access points offer flexibility when exploring the shops and establishments throughout the building.

The mezzanine, or entre-solo, was first occupied by medical offices and now holds restaurants. Look up inside the gallery for the skylight and stained-glass windows, and note the two grilled elevators installed to the left of the entrance.