Vila Guilherme Park, Municipal park in Vila Guilherme neighborhood, São Paulo, Brazil.
Vila Guilherme Park is a large public green space in a densely built residential area with walking paths, sports courts, and cycling routes throughout. The grounds also feature outdoor exercise equipment and different zones designed for various activities.
The park developed from the grounds of an equestrian club established in the 1930s that served the wealthy segments of society for decades. The site later transformed into a public space to serve the broader neighborhood.
The park's name comes from the German-born merchant Guilherme Praun da Silva, who bought the land in 1912 and named its streets after relatives and acquaintances. The Sociedade Paulista de Trote, unlike the elite Jockey Club, was founded and run by deliverymen and street vendors, and its ballroom hosted weddings and birthdays.
The park has two entrances: Portaria 1 on Avenida Nadir Dias Figueiredo and Portaria 2 at Rua Quirino, 905. Inside, a running track, a jogging path, a bike lane, playground, drinking fountains, sports courts and restrooms are laid out across the grounds. The terrain is flat, and the former racecourse area connects directly to Vila Guilherme Park.
The park keeps structures from the old Sociedade Paulista de Trote, including the race track and the grandstands built for harness racing. The club's colours, white and light blue, were also used on the hippodrome buildings. Harness races were registered with the Ministry of Agriculture in 1947, the year the sport began in Brazil.
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