at a glance

the land, on which barra da tijuca is located  was originally owned by the family of correia de sá, and then by the saint benedict monastery that existed in the region. the changes in the brazilian economical and political landscape, including the abolition of slavery in1888, would eventually bring the monks to bankruptcy, forcing them to sell the lands to private owners by the end of the 19th century.

in 1938 barra would see its first allotment, and in the 1960s the creation of new access lanes would allow for further development of the region, by the end of that decade, lúcio costa was chosen to plan the layout of the new neighborhood, and at that time urbanization of the district truly took off - today, the beachfront avenue that borders the ocean is in fact called lúcio costa avenue in his honor.