Praça da Alfândega Picture 2

More information on Praca da Alfandega Photo by: Ze Alfredo

Da Alfândega Square is a historic square, located in downtown Porto AlegPraça da Alfândega, Rua Siqueira Campos, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazilre, near the lake Guaíba, and being surrounded by important buildings, some of them historical, such as Santander Cultural, the MARGS, Memorial do Rio Grande do Sul, the former Cine Guarany the headquarters of BANRISUL Rua da Praia Shopping, among others.

Its origin dates from the late eighteenth century, appearing in the place where was the old fluvial port of the city. On July 2, 1783 the council determined that they build a stone piers along the river to facilitate the landing of passengers and goods. In 1804 the Provincial Governor, Paulo da Gama, who was ordered to widen the berth with the construction of a pier, which was considered a work remarkable for its size, with 24 monumental pillars entering the riverbed, and that allowed the landing of smacks and yachts large. At this time it is alleged that the presence of a plaza in front of the pier, with the first building of Customs of the city. In this square traders and greengrocers gathered , with their tents arranged disorderly.

When it came to building a bigger building for the Customs, in 1820, traders were compelled to move to the then Paradise Square, now Square XV, and there was resistance, and finally permitted to occupy the west side of the square to trade . At the same time Silvestre de Souza Telles, based on a concession received, claimed ownership of part of the area that made money with the Customs, which threatened the expansion plans of the street by the authorities. The claimant was finally revoked his concession, and the government arranged that the access to the pier to Customs was cleared of hawkers and temporary buildings.

However, governmental efforts were insufficient to keep the place clean and clear, making it a deposit of debris. The situation improved between 1856 and 1858 when it was erected a stone wall with stairs along the river, the alignment of what is now the street Sete de Setembro. In 1866 began afforestation, starting with only nine trees planted by contract, and a fountain was installed , but then the square was delivered to the surrounding residents to adorn the garden, under the guidance of the public engineering . Some years after there were already benches on the sidewalk and a kiosk. On March 14, 1883 its name was changed from Praça da Alfândega to Praça Senator Florencio.

Decisive for the present conformation of the square was the demolition of the old Da Alfândega building in 1912, and the filling of a range of 100 feet wide inland from the river, between Da Alfândega building gate to the harbor, and in this area were built today MARGS buildings and RS Memorial, incorporating even the small square Barão do Rio Branco to the new square.

In 1920 a series of silk cotton that had grown to the point of harming nearby crops and landscaping of the site were removed. In 1933 the equestrian monument of General Osório was installed in the center of the street, with reflecting pools, fountains and benches, and in 1979 was absorbed into the bed of the street Sete de Setembro, at the same time that the town would lose a fraction of the west to make way for construction of the building of Caixa Economica Federal. In 2007 works were carried out archaeological prospecting in order to discover the exact location of the ancient harbor of stone and other remnants of the old conformation of the Square.

The square is one of the most traditional of the city, and has many monuments and sculptures in their places, among them the most important are the Monument to Barão of Rio Branco, the Monument to General Osorio, the Hermas dedicated to Antonio Carlos Lopes, Caldas Junior, Leonardo Truda and Baron of St. Angelo, and the group of sculptures by Sheila and Carlos Drummond de Andrade directed by Francisco Stockinger. Some of its monuments have been vandalized unfortunately, having stolen pieces of bronze or repeatedly being pitched.

Also it works, except for weekends, a number of street vendors with their stalls, selling mainly crafts and leather goods, crystal, paintings and incense. Since 1955, when the second fortnight of October, it happens in the traditional square Book Fair of Porto Alegre, organized by the Chamber Riograndense Book (CRL), attracting thousands of visitors who seek new releases and national or international many offers of used books at very low cost, to attend music concerts, dance and theater that happen every day, and enjoy the spectacle of the great silk cotton, ipe and jacaranda in full bloom this time of year.

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