Memória urbana em rastros: a Praça Onze de Junho no Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Onze de Junho Square, popularly known as Praça Onze, was a public space that at the beginning of the 19th century emerged and consolidated itself around the center of Rio de Janeiro. The place, strongly associated with the manifestations of popular culture such as samba and carnival, has gained its place in the history of the city through the experiences practiced by the group of this cultural segment. During the 1940s, the construction of Presidente Vargas Avenue caused Praça Onze to be demolished in its entirety from the landscape. Based on a reading of urban memory and an analysis through urban imagery linked to public art and urban furniture that were part of the place, this dissertation intends to reconstruct the spatial trajectory of Onze de Junho Square. The established time frame comprises the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century, from the appearance of the place to the period where its traces are manifested in the city. Although it does not physically exist, the public space constituted by Praça Onze still has its meaning intensely linked to the region it belonged to, and the public art and urban furniture that integrated its landscape contribute to this story being told. And its tracks, even if dissolved in space, reinforce the relevance of the place in the history of the city.