Várzea do Carmo

Várzea do Carmo was the designation of one of the central areas of the city of São Paulo, adjacent to the Carmel Convent and frequently affected by the floods of the Tamanduateí River, formerly known as Piratininga.

In 1821, Major Pedro Arbues Moreira submitted to the government a proposal to drain the Várzea do Carmo by opening a 40-meter-wide canal; the work was not carried out as it was too expensive.

On April 14, 1895, at Várzea do Carmo, a soccer match was played between Englishmen and Anglo-Brazilians, formed by employees of the Gas Company and the São Paulo Railway.

[6][7] In 1822, while visiting the city of São Paulo, the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire characterized the Várzea de Carmo as a "plain without accidents that presents a charming alternative of creeping pastures and low scrubland [...] In the parts where there is more water, the soil is interspersed with mounds covered with thick tufts of grass."

[6][7] Companhia Mêcanica, which had canalized a large part of the Tamanduateí River, received a proposal from the City Hall to carry out the urbanization of Várzea do Carmo.

As the Municipal Treasury had no resources, Mayor Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa suggested paying for the service with the remaining land that belonged to the City Hall.