Luz Station

Luz Station (Portuguese: Estação da Luz, IPA: [(i)staˈsɐ̃w dɐ ˈlus]) is a commuter rail and intercity rail station in the Bom Retiro district of São Paulo, Brazil, serving RFFSA, the intercity rail network of Brazil, CPTM Line 7-Ruby, Line 11-Coral and Line 13–Jade (Airport-Express). It has subway connections to São Paulo Metro Line 1-Blue and ViaQuatro Line 4-Yellow via its underground metro station of the same name.

It is currently located in Bairro da Luz and was built between 1895 and 1901, designed by the British architect Charles Henry Driver for the São Paulo Railway, a company based in London that was responsible for building the first railway line in the state of São Paulo, connecting the port of Santos to the city of Jundiaí.

The station houses the Museum of the Portuguese Language, established in 2006. The Luz Metro station is also located within the complex.

The station was built in the late 19th century with the purpose of being the headquarters of the newly founded São Paulo Railway. In the first decades of the 20th century, it was the main entrance to the city, a fact that gave it a major economic relevance, because the majority of the coffee from Santos was delivered in the station, along with the imported supplies. At the time of the station's construction in the mid-nineteenth century, the Luz neighborhood was characterized by a large embankment that connected the city's downtown area to the Grande Bridge. It also had a botanical garden, which was enlarged by the Governor João Teodoro Xavier de Matos, and would serve as the future home of Luz station.

Land for the station was earmarked from the Botanical Garden Square, though its exact location was not confirmed until 1865. With the support of construction engineer Daniel Fox, superintendent J.J. Aubertin requested to the governor that the station be constructed on the corner of Rua Brigadeiro Tobias, where the current metro station now stands. He also requested that construction follow the previous plans created by the inspector engineer Vasco de Medeiros; otherwise, the station would be displaced to the other side of the Botanical Garden, and two gates would need to be installed to serve Rua Alegre and Rua Constituição. If the station were to be constructed beside the current subway station, however, the installation of one gate would be sufficient to serve both streets.

The initial station building was a small, one-story block. Dispatch facilities, facilities for boarding and arrival, and the residence of the station chief were located inside the station, while buildings for line administration, company engineering, building repairs, and supplies storage were built outside.

On 17 March 1888, station expansion was proposed, leading to the construction of the "second" Luz station. Passenger platforms were expanded and the edifice renovated. After construction, another story was added, bringing the station's height to two stories. The edifice was rebuilt in the neoclassical style and an iron cover was installed over the entrance of the building and the platforms. In 1900, Alfredo Moreira Pinto described the second Luz station as follows:

[The station] currently occupies a building with a recessed central body, three windows and two doors on the second floor, three windows and a front porch on the first floor, and two salient side bodies with four windows each, with one on the second floor and the other on the first floor. In the central body, the lobby and the ticket office are located on the first floor, and the traffic distribution is located on the 2nd floor. Beside the lobby, there is the post office, a ladies' room and, in front of it, a bar. In the back of the building is an extensive platform with the station chief's office, the telegraph, and many cargo bays.