Gaetano Ferolla Museum of Public Transport, Transport museum in Canindé neighborhood, São Paulo, Brazil.
The Museu dos Transportes Públicos Gaetano Ferolla occupies a former railway complex in Canindé and holds seven urban vehicles, among them an animal-drawn tram, a sand-spreading tram and the double-decker "fofão" bus. Its rooms also keep about 1,500 photographs, 1,500 books, city models and early driver's licences issued to coachmen, boatmen and motormen.
The museum opened on 20 March 1985 as the Museu da Companhia Municipal de Transportes Coletivos, inaugurated by mayor Mário Covas on the initiative of CMTC employee Gaetano Ferolla, who had gathered furniture, objects and vehicles after São Paulo's last tram ran on 27 March 1968. Ferolla died on 27 September 1990, and on 27 September 1991 the museum took his name. It occupies a former railway complex and is now run by SPTrans.
The museum's name honors Gaetano Ferolla, a CMTC draftsman who began saving furniture, objects and vehicles in his office after São Paulo's last streetcar, the "bonde camarão", ran on 27 March 1968. The collection grew through donations from institutions and private collectors, and the museum has been managed by SPTrans.
The space is accessible by public transportation and located in a central area of the city. Visitors should plan for several hours to view the collection comfortably and take time to read the accompanying materials.
The sand car sits in the garden at the museum entrance, where benches and lamps recall the 1920s. It dropped sand on the rails to prevent the wheels of passenger trams from slipping.
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