Rua Oscar Freire

This guide to Rua Oscar Freire in São Paulo traces how a shopping street ranked among the world's most luxurious came to carry the name of Oscar Freire de Carvalho, a Bahian forensic physician who taught cadaver dissection and never saw the street built. It follows the road's turn from a quiet residential row in 1970 into a stretch of flagship boutiques and contemporary galleries, driven by a merchants' association pushing change through the 2000s. Listen for the two galleries at numbers 240 and 379, built to launch Brazilian artists rather than sell handbags.