Sala São Paulo

This guide to Sala São Paulo traces a grand railway terminal built in the 1930s by Brazilian financiers racing to out-build a British-run line that had long controlled the coffee trade to the port of Santos. It follows the station's construction modeled on New York's grand terminals, its collapse after the 1929 crash gutted coffee prices, and the years it sat half-forgotten before engineers began converting the old garden into a concert hall in 1997. Trains still rattle past just meters from where you stand while the orchestra plays — listen for whether you notice them.