ChapéudoSol

One of the 7 Wonders of the modern world, Cristo Redentor is so much a part of the city that it almost seems as if it was already standing atop Corcovado when the first colonizers set foot in Rio de Janeiro. However, the monument was only inaugurated in 1931, and before Cristo became one of Rio's most famous postcard images, another lookout point occupied the top of the hill - the Chapéu do Sol.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a mountainous landscape with a monument under construction in the center. On the left side, we see a city stretching along the coast, with several houses and buildings. Moving toward the center, we see a large metal structure surrounding a rocky peak. In the background, there are more mountains and a panoramic view of the sea. To the right, further in the distance, is another city and an island.

The Chapéu do Sol was a cast-iron structure roughly 13 m in diameter, commissioned from a Belgian foundry. It was inaugurated atop Corcovado in 1885, shortly after the opening to the public of the railway linking Cosme Velho to Paineiras, on July 1st of that same year. The construction of the railway - the 1st in Latin America intended for tourism - was a concession granted by Emperor D. Pedro II to engineers João Teixeira Soares and Francisco Pereira Passos, the latter serving as mayor of Rio from 1902 to 1906.

Image description: This is a photograph of a postcard showing an architectural structure with a domed roof and a decorated metal canopy. The structure is located on elevated ground, with a view of mountains in the background. In the lower part of the image, there are two people dressed in historical clothing, one of them holding a hat. On the left, there is a wall with an opening that appears to be a tunnel or passageway. The image is in black and white.

Until the first decades of the 20th century, Chapéu do Sol was widely frequented by members of Rio's elite, who climbed Corcovado to hold grand picnics - a French custom that became a craze among Brazilian upper classes in the early 1900s -, wearing elegant clothes and enjoying silverware, china, and servants who did all the work.

Image description: This is an old black-and-white photograph. The image shows a large group of people gathered in a spot covered by trees. In the foreground, women are wearing long period dresses, while the men behind them wear suits and hats. In the background, there is a wooden structure with flags hanging from it. On the left, some people are sitting on the ground, apparently waiting to enter the event. In the bottom right corner is written "PICNIC NO CORCOVADO" and "J.GUTIÉRREZ R.G.DIAS 40".

The 1920s arrived, and with them, the realization of the idea of building a religious symbol atop Corcovado. According to Rodrigo Alvarez in the book Redentor (Globolivros, 2021), it was Princess Isabel who first envisioned the statue of Christ, back in 1888. However, construction only began in 1926, and, for that, the Chapéu do Sol was moved to a plateau below where it used to stand.

After the inauguration of the Cristo Redentor on October 12, 1931, it did not take long for the press to start spreading the idea that Chapéu do Sol was outdated and uncomfortable. In the 1940s, the lookout was dismantled by then-mayor Henrique Dodsworth.

References: PAMPLONA, Patrícia; MOTA, Isabela. Vestígios da paisagem carioca: 50 lugares desaparecidos do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: Mauad X, 2019. WANDERLEY, Andréa C. T. Série "O Rio de Janeiro desaparecido" XI – A Estrada de Ferro do Corcovado e o mirante Chapéu de Sol. Brasiliana Fotográfica. Available at: https:// brasilianafotografica.bn.gov.br/?p=19898 Digital Newspaper Archive of the National Library