Vila de Paranapiacaba

Paranapiacaba é um distrito do município brasileiro de Santo André (estado de São Paulo). Surgiu inicialmente como centro de controle operacional e residência para os funcionários da companhia inglesa de trens São Paulo Railway - estrada de ferro que possibilitava o transporte de cargas e pessoas do interior paulista para o porto de Santos, e vice-versa.
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Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
1867
In order to link the port of Santos on the Brazilian south coast with coffee growing regions in the interior state of São Paulo, a railroad funicular was built to lift entire trains, laden with coffee, across the mountainous divide and through the dense Atlantic forest. A British company built the immense system of steam engines that powered the funicular, and also established the railroad village of Paranapiacaba at the end of the nineteenth century for the employees who manned its operation. Wooden workers' houses typical of those in British mining areas were erected, while more important dwellings were fashioned in Victorian style. Paranapiacaba thrived until automated operations rendered the labor-intensive funicular system obsolete. Eventually, the community moved away and deterioration set in. With almost no residents left, and few experts in the country knowledgeable about conservation of wooden buildings, Paranapiacaba verges on extinction. Better protection and new uses for the buildings need to be established and a plan for sustainable development must be implemented. With a significant investment, this former railroad village, which vividly interprets this vital period in the history of Brazil, could be reborn.