Look at this house on Rua Sacadura Cabral, number 203, and imagine its residents watching the city change completely in the beginnings of the 20th century.
Between 1903 and 1906, mayor Pereira Passos’ reforms pleased the president and the elite, but left thousands of downtown residents outraged – the descendants of slaves, the longshoremen, poor immigrants, the first ‘sambistas’. There is conflicting information about the number of old buildings that were destroyed in order to widen avenues such as Rua da Vala, now called Uruguaiana, and to build Ave. Beira Mar and the sewage system. It did not take long for the reforms to gain the popular nickname, “Knock It Down”.
For example, on Monday, 13 June, 1904, the newspaper, Jornal do Brasil, included a curious announcement entitled in bold, “Revolt”. It read:
- Adelino Barateiro House – General Astonishment at the Final Liquidation of the Commercial Revolt
- Property and Novelties for all prices for eviction of building, to be included in the “knock down” to widen the avenue
- Rua Uruguiana, 67