Monumento Rodoviário da Rodovia Presidente Dutra
| Monumento Rodoviário da Rodovia Presidente Dutra | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2019 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Type | Monument and rest area |
| Architectural style | Art deco |
| Town or city | Piraí, Rio de Janeiro |
| Country | Brazil |
| Coordinates | 22°40′23″S 43°49′57″W / 22.672964°S 43.832545°W |
| Construction started | 8 May 1926 |
| Inaugurated | 13 May 1938 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Raphael Galvão |
| Civil engineer | |
The Monumento Rodoviário da Rodovia Presidente Dutra is a monument and former rest area on the Rodovia Presidente Dutra section of the BR-116, at Kilometer 226[1] of the Serra das Araras in Piraí, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[2]
Construction[edit]
Construction of the monument started on 18 May 1926,[3] with the foundation stone laid in 1928 by Washington Luiz,[1] and it was inaugurated on 13 May 1938.[4] It was created as a highway rest area and tourist observation point, and had a large restaurant and leisure area. It comprises 54,000 square metres (580,000 sq ft) of construction adjacent to the highway, with a garden area including a pond, and an art deco building,[3] 46 metres (151 ft) tall, with two floors[1] under a 35-metre (115 ft) tall tower [5] that has an aerial lighthouse at the top.[1]
It was conceived by the Touring Club do Brasil, designed by Raphael Galvão, and engineered by Mario Chagas Doria and Christiani & Nielsen.[3] Its interior featured four panels by Candido Portinari, measuring 0.96 by 7.68 metres (3.1 ft × 25.2 ft),[4] with the theme of "Building a highway".[1] The exterior has eight bas-relief panels by Albert Freyhoffer showing the change in transport over time, from a litter to a carriage and ox cart up to the car in the 1930s.[3]
Closure[edit]
The monument was closed in 1978, and has been decaying ever since,[3] with significant vandalism.[2] It was registered as cultural heritage on 27 August 1990.[6] The Portinari panels were removed in October 2000,[1] restored in 2001,[7] and are now on display at the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes.[1]
A public civil action to restore the structure was filed by the Federal Public Ministry of Volta Redonda in October 2015. The concessionary that runs the highway past the monument says that the concessionary contract does not cover the maintenance of the monument, although it presented a plan to restore the monument that was approved with reservations before 2016, with no further progress.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Dia, O. (4 June 2014). "Farol na Serra das Araras: descaso que já dura 35 anos". O Dia - _legado_O Dia no Estado (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Verde, Do G1 Sul do Rio e Costa (9 July 2016). "Monumento rodoviário de Piraí, RJ, está com estrutura comprometida". Sul do Rio e Costa Verde (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2019.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e "Monumento Rodoviário". São Paulo Antiga (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 August 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ a b Guedes, Postado por Vera. ""Monumento Rodoviário" na Serra das Araras em Piraí-RJ encontra-se abandonado". Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ "Leitora alerta para abandono e falta de conservação de Monumento Rodoviário". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 July 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ "INEPAC". www.inepac.rj.gov.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ "Comunicação Social". www1.dnit.gov.br. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2019.