Community Description

Consolação is a district in the central region of the city of São Paulo and one of the most important historical and cultural regions in the city.

It comprises part of the Vila Buarque neighborhood, where the Irmandade da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo is based, the theater of the University of São Paulo (TUSP) and the Maria Antônia University Center; part of the neighborhood of Cerqueira César, where Colégio São Luís is located. Also within the district are the upscale neighborhoods of Higienópolis and Pacaembu, traditional intellectual strongholds and families descended from the great coffee growers of the beginning of the 20th century, where the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie is located. and the Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation

The district is served by lines 2-Green (Consolação Station) of the São Paulo Metro and 4-Yellow (Paulista and Higienópolis-Mackenzie Stations) of ViaQuatro. In the future, it will also be served by Line 6-Orange, with the construction of HigienópolisMackenzie Station and Angélica-Pacaembu Station.

Training
One of the districts of the city of São Paulo, it is made up of the neighborhoods of Consolação, Higienópolis, Vila Buarque and Pacaembu. Its development took place from Caminho de Pinheiros or Caminho de Sorocaba, the current Rua da Consolação, the neighborhood's main thoroughfare. A region far from the city, there were vegetable and fruit plantations at the time and it was only around 1779 that a small village began to inhabit the region. They were the devotees of Our Lady of Consolation, who built a chapel for the saint out of rammed earth. The church became the Nossa Senhora da Consolação Parish, founded in 1798.[2][3] It was the construction of the church that brought more residents to the area which, thanks to its newly acquired importance, gained attention from the city government, which built roads and streets there, enabling and facilitating access. As it was on the side of the Caminho de Pinheiros, used by troop drivers who went from Largo da Memória to Pinheiros to close deals with traders from cities like Itu and Sorocaba, it has historical significance for the construction of the neighborhood and the city.

After the construction of the church, the Brotherhood of Nossa Senhora da Consolação and São João Batista was created in 1855, the year in which a cholera epidemic hit the region. With the aim of supporting the morphetics who roamed the Province in large numbers,[4] the institution gave the church a new meaning. There was also care for other diseases. The Brotherhood's action presented him with a donation from Santa Casa de Misericórdia: a building and the prerogative to treat patients affected by Hansen's disease. The increase in patients and the Brotherhood's treatment initiative guaranteed population growth and the consequent urbanization of the region.


Main facade of the Consolação Church
It was the cholera outbreak that gave rise to the Consolação Cemetery, opened in 1858, as it was necessary to bury the fatal victims. The City Council chose the address because it was away from the population and was also fundamental for the consolidation of the neighborhood.[2] It is there that names such as Ramos de Azevedo, Oswald de Andrade, Monteiro Lobato and Caetano de Campos himself are buried.[5]

In 1870, with a population of approximately 3,500 inhabitants, the Consolação Church was elevated to the headquarters of the parish. On March 23 of the same year, the neighborhood was renamed a district. In the surrounding area, wealthy families from the city settled, who built large farms and neighborhoods such as Higienópolis and Santa Cecília emerged. The emergence of Avenida Paulista in 1891 also gave Consolação importance, given the proximity of the two areas. From then on, the neighborhood became popular among the city's residents and gained prominence in the nightlife, social and cultural life of São Paulo.[2]