at a glance

The neighborhood of Oswaldo Cruz is located in the zona norte - the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro and is enveloped by turiaçu and rocha miranda to the north, bento ribeiro to the west, vila valqueire and campinho to the south, and madureira to the east.

The area was part of the Irajá Parish, established in 1644, and towards the end of the 19th Century the economy of this region was in crisis. Rio das Pedras, or 'Stones River', crossed the Fazendo do Campinho, or 'Small Field Ranch', situated within Irajá Parish.

The arrival of the railroad to the region, in 1898, was the first seed of great transformations to the region - The train was one of the only access routes in and out of the area until the middle of the 20th century.