Paranapiacaba is a district of the municipality of Santo André in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is located approximately by road southeast of the centre of the city of São Paulo, and about east of Rio Grande da Serra. The word paranapiacaba means "where you will find the sea" in Tupi. There are about 1,200 residents.
Paranapiacaba was established as a company town for the employees of São Paulo Railway, a privately owned British railway company. A large industrial complex, which the district is known for, lies off the main road from Rio Grande da Serra, on the way into the main village. The growth of this centre was facilitated by the railway, transporting cargo and people from São Paulo Interior to the port of Santos. The village design has been characterized as being panoptic.
Geography
The village is located on a slope opposite Santo André, approximately by road southeast of the centre of the city of São Paulo, and about east of Rio Grande da Serra. The industrial complex, larger than the village itself, however, lies just several kilometres to the southeast of Rio Grande da Serra. The village is located amidst the Serra do Mar coastal forests, in the south coast, at the highest point of the area, and hence it came to be known as “a place to view the sea” in Tupi-Guarani language. The Mata Atlantica around the town provides ample opportunities for hiking into the forest of the Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar where orchids and bromelias are major attractions. Agriculture and grazing farms are situated to the west while the nearby mountains reach elevations of .
Rail connections can be made to Paranapiacaba from Estação da Luz, one of the four stations in São Paulo. The nearest international airport is the Cumbica at Guarulhos, outside São Paulo. MRS Logística used electric traction between Paranapiacaba and Raiz de Serra.
History
Vila de Paranapiacaba was established during the middle of the 19th century; it was designed according to the prison model style developed by Jeremy Bentham. It was founded by the British-owned São Paulo Railway Company. The construction of this zig-zag railway line in the hilly local terrain was considered a feat by the British engineers and workers at the time. The town was built when the company built the railway line to export coffee beans from the area through the port of Santos. The village prospered for 30 years, until automated machinery replaced the funicular, which was labor-intensive. The village's population suddenly declined and many of its buildings were abandoned. At one time, there were 4,000 workers, most of them British citizens. The last steam train in Paranapiacaba was deactivated for labor work in 1982.
City design
Paranapiacaba was designed in a special model style. Because of its remoteness, the town has been well preserved. The buildings were all of English style (even the large homes were of Victorian style) built with wood and bricks. The houses in the town are all made of timber and looks like a mofussil area of Surrey. The town was laid out in the 1890s in a grid pattern. Even though Brazil attained independence in 1822, its architectural styles were influenced by Portuguese colonizers and by the British. The town is stated as having more English architecture than perhaps anywhere else in the country.
Notable landmarks
The District of Paranapiacaba is known for its large industrial complex, which lies off the main road from Rio Grande da Serra, on the way into the main village, but is actually nearer Rio Grande da Serra. The growth of this industrial centre was facilitated by the railway, transporting goods to the port of Santos. The railway station's clock tower is based on Big Ben in London. The locomotive stations, old British carriages and steam engines, cable station (funicular type), and workers' cottages are all well preserved and form part of the museum which is open to the public.