Caixa Cultural São Paulo, Arts centre in downtown São Paulo, Brazil

Caixa Cultural São Paulo occupies the Sé Building, a 17,000 m² Art Deco structure facing Sé Square in the historic centre. Its entrance has a portico with black piracaia granite Ionic columns, and the ground-floor walls are clad in marble. Inside, an octagonal hall leads to a room with a stained-glass window over six metres high by Milanese artist Henrique Zucca, showing coffee agriculture, industry and livestock; the vaulted ceiling holds a coloured skylight.

The building was constructed in 1939 as a regional administrative headquarters for a financial institution and reflects the architectural style of that era. It was later converted into a public arts space offering exhibitions and cultural programs accessible to the wider community.

The name Sé comes from the square where the building stands, the site of the city's first cathedral. The Caixa Museum on the sixth floor keeps objects, documents and period rooms of Caixa Econômica Federal and Brazil's financial system. The center also runs guided visits for schools, a course on the history of downtown São Paulo for teachers, architects and guides, and activities for seniors.

The center occupies the ground, first, second and sixth floors of the Sé Building, facing Sé Square in the historic center; the Sé metro station is beside the square. The building also holds Caixa administrative offices and the Sé bank branch, so look for the cultural center entrance rather than the bank counter. Guided tours are offered for schools, and visitors get free internet access.

The sixth floor holds the Museu da Caixa, with objects and documents on the history of Caixa Econômica Federal and Brazil's financial system, set among period rooms with original fittings. The museum opened with the centre in 1989, when the bank's former state headquarters was converted.