Cassino da Urca, Former casino in Urca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cassino da Urca is an art deco building on the edge of Urca Beach, in the Urca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It sits right at the waterline, with large glass windows, curved walls, and smooth white surfaces that face the bay and Sugarloaf Mountain.
The building opened as Hotel Balneario in the 1920s and was converted into a casino in 1933 by businessman Joaquim Rolla. A nationwide ban on gambling in 1946 forced it to close its casino operations, after which the property changed hands and purposes several times.
The venue drew some of the biggest names in Latin American and international entertainment during the 1930s and 1940s, with Carmen Miranda and Josephine Baker among those who performed on its stage. That legacy still shapes how locals and visitors think about the Urca neighborhood and its place in Rio's social history.
The building is in the Urca neighborhood, a calm area that is easy to reach by bus from central Rio de Janeiro. Since access at the waterfront level can be limited, viewing the facade from the road while also taking in the bay view is a good approach.
After the casino closed, the building became the headquarters of TV Tupi from 1953 to 1980, one of the first television stations in Brazil. Many of the country's earliest television programs were produced here during those years.
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