The Manor
The city of Santos was the scene of major urban and social transformations at the beginning of the 20th century, brought about by the commercialization of the main export product of the time, coffee. Changes that began in the second half of the 19th century, with major investments in the municipality, such as the inauguration of the railroad in 1867, the opening of the organized port in 1892 and the reformulation of the urban layout, combined with an increase in population, mainly immigrants, formed a set of undertakings that instigated spatial expansion, providing a new urban dynamic and leading to the formation of new neighbourhoods.
Many of the wealthy families who lived in the city center moved to the beach area in the early decades of the 20th century in search of a better quality of life, establishing a new link between the center and Barra beach, now Boqueirão.
Among the various families, we highlight that of Anton Carl Dick, a German who owned a tannery in the area. Around 1908, he built his home on a 6,600 m2 plot of land, located at no. 12 on the old Avenida da Barra, on the seafront, where he lived for three years. In 1911, he sold the property to Francisco da Costa Pires, a Portuguese coffee exporter, who lived there with his family until 1913, when he had to sell it for financial reasons.
The house was later occupied by the Invalids' Asylum, which remained in the mansion for eight years. At that time, the building already had the upper terrace, the double columns at the bottom and the wooden railings with rounded spears between the thick pillars, since the original project didn't include the side porch, the driveway and the staircase were designed differently from today.
In 1921, Pires reacquired the mansion and renovated it entirely, giving the house its current appearance and shape. It took two years of remodeling, with the inclusion of ornamental elements in the Art Nouveau style, Carrara marble on the staircase, solid iron on the banisters, stained glass windows on the porch and on the balcony of the rooms, executed by Casa Conrado of São Paulo, as well as decorative paintings. Outside, French-style gardens were created, with benches, pergolas and a decorative fountain on the right side of the house.
Between 1923 and 1935, the mansion enjoyed a period of boom. However, in 1936, the residence was sold to the Companhia Sul-Americana de Capitalização and turned into a boarding school for girls for two years.
Later, the property was acquired by Mr. Antônio Canero, a Spaniard who became rich in the scrap metal business. His family lived there until 1978. During this period, Mr. Canero passed away, leading to disagreements about the future of the property.
The city council intervened and, on October 9, 1979, declared the mansion of public utility for the purposes of expropriation, under the administration of Mayor Carlos Caldeira Filho. However, there was no consensus between the heirs and the municipality, resulting in the abandonment of the mansion, which became a tenement, housing around 24 families.
Once again, the city council intervened and considered various suggestions for using the mansion as the seat of the city council, a municipal spa, the headquarters of the tourism office or a space for cultural activities. In 1986, it was decided that the property would be used for the Pinacoteca Benedicto Calixto Foundation.
The process of restoring the building began, with the necessary adaptations to house the institution's exhibition spaces and cultural activities, culminating in the inauguration on April 4, 1992.
On December 13, 2012, the building was listed by the Municipal Council for the Defense of the Cultural Heritage of Santos (CONDEPASA) due to its architectural representativeness, being the last of the mansions remaining from the golden age of coffee in the region.
Today, the headquarters of the Pinacoteca Benedicto Calixto, also known as Casarão Branco, is a cultural reference for Santos and the region.
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