Tereza Toledo Lara Palace, Eclectic mansion in downtown São Paulo, Brazil
Tereza Toledo Lara Palace is a three-story mansion in eclectic architectural style, located in downtown São Paulo. The facade is decorated with carved masks, statues, and garlands, and the interior features colored stained glass windows and hydraulic tile flooring.
The mansion was built in 1910 to a design by German architect Augusto Fried for Danish businessman Adam Ditrik von Bulow, a shareholder of Companhia Antarctica Paulista. Count Antônio de Toledo Lara later acquired it and named it after his seven-year-old daughter Tereza. In the 1930s, under Paulo Machado de Carvalho, the upper floor housed the headquarters of Rádio Record, which supported the state in the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution. The building was listed in 1977 within the Z8-200 preservation zone.
The building is nicknamed "the musical corner of São Paulo" from the 1940s, when Radio Record and instrument shops shared the address. Casa Bevilacqua, the city's first instrument shop, moved here in 1912 and still trades upstairs under the name Amadeus. Since 2014 the Casa de Francisca concert venue, focused on Brazilian music, has occupied the building.
The building is easy to spot while walking through downtown São Paulo, as it stands along one of the central streets. The ground floor is accessible without any special requirements, making it straightforward to step in and look around during a stroll through the area.
Architect Augusto Fried signed his name directly on the facade of the building, a practice that was common among builders in São Paulo in the early 20th century. The signature can still be seen today by anyone who takes a close look at the exterior.
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