Parque da Aclimação, Municipal park in São Paulo, Brazil.
Parque da Aclimação is a municipal park in the Aclimação neighborhood of São Paulo, Brazil, built around a natural lagoon and crossed by paved walking paths shaded by eucalyptus trees. The grounds also hold a Japanese garden with water features, a small outdoor performance shell, sports courts, fitness equipment, and an environmental library.
Carlos Botelho founded the Jardim da Aclimação here in 1892 on land of the old Sítio do Tapanhoin, inspired by the Jardin d'acclimatation in Paris, and ran a dairy farm, a zoo and an amusement park. His heirs sold off plots around the garden, and in 1939 Mayor Francisco Prestes Maia bought the grounds for the city. The zoo was removed and the park was listed in 1986.
The name Aclimação comes from Carlos Botelho's project to prove that European cattle breeds could thrive in São Paulo, the reason he founded the Jardim da Aclimação in 1892. The Japanese garden with its reflecting pool is a later addition to the grounds. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 7:30 to 8:30, the park hosts free dance-aerobics sessions to contemporary music.
The closest subway station is Paraíso, served by Lines 1 and 2, from where the park is reachable on foot or by a short bus ride. The terrain is mostly flat and the paths are paved, so getting around is easy regardless of the entrance you use.
The old zoo kept a polar bear in a climate-controlled habitat chilled with ice supplied by the Antarctica brewery group. Press coverage of the era also recorded a keeper attacked by a lion and a giant anaconda that escaped and had to be carried back by five men.
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