The decorated halls
Baroque and Art Deco.
Wilfredor — CC0 · Angélica Cardoso Marinho Feijó — CC BY-SA 4.0 · ALLAN WILLIAM TROCATTI — CC BY-SA 4.0
Quitandinha Palace is a huge building on a lake at the western end of Petrópolis, built between 1941 and 1946 as a luxury casino hotel, and on opening the largest casino hotel in Latin America. But Brazil banned gambling in 1946, so the casino closed after only two years; the hotel carried on until 1962, after which its rooms were sold as apartments. Its exterior is in the Norman French style, its interior a mix of Brazilian baroque and Art Deco, with bold coloured decoration by the American designer Dorothy Draper and halls ten metres high. Hollywood stars and many politicians stayed here, and in 1947 it hosted the conference of the Rio Treaty, the American states' mutual defence pact, attended by US President Truman. The lake in front, said to be shaped like a map of Brazil, was dug as a water supply in case of fire. Its public halls are now run by the Sesc organisation as a cultural centre; visits are free, with exhibitions, performances and tours of the decorated halls. A path around the lake is popular with local walkers.
Baroque and Art Deco.
On the lake.
A quiet walk.
Avenida Joaquim Rolla 2, Quitandinha
No. The casino closed in 1946 and the hotel in 1962; its public halls are now a cultural centre run by Sesc, free to visit.