Google Doodles: Elevador Lacerda

8 de dezembro de 2018

145º aniversário de inauguração do Elevador Lacerda

Today’s Doodle celebrates the iconic Lacerda Elevator of Salvador, Brazil, which has been in operation for the past 145 years. Situated on Brazil’s southeastern coast overlooking the Bay of All Saints, São Salvador, Bahia was the nation’s capital until 1763. Constructed in two sections, at the top and bottom of a steep embankment, Salvador is divided into a lower city (Cidade Baixa) and an upper city (Cidade Alta), which were initially connected by a long flight of stairs.

In the early 1600s Jesuit missionaries installed a rope-and-pulley elevator to lift people and parcels on the 72-meter journey to the top. However, In the late 1860s construction began on a mechanical elevator under the leadership of developer Antonio de Lacerda and his brother, engineer Augusto Frederico de Lacerda.

A complex system of counterweights, hydraulics, and steam engines powered the elevator, which opened in 145 years ago, in 1873. In the 1900s the elevator was revamped with electric power, and it received an Art Deco makeover in 1930. Today there are two towers with a total of four bays, each of which can accommodate up to 32 passengers for the 30-second journey—roughly a million people use the elevator each month. Exactly 12 years ago the elevator was recognized by Brazil’s National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage. Dawn is a great time to ride this legendary lift, when it’s decorated with lights and there’s a gorgeous view of Fort Santo-Antonia-da-Barra. More than a means of transportation, the Lacerda Elevator has become a tourist attraction and a symbol of Brazilian ingenuity.

Fontes:
-- https://www.google.com/doodles/145th-anniversary-of-lacerdas-elevator-opening.
-- https://www.google.com.br/logos/doodles/2018/145th-anniversary-of-lacerdas-elevator-opening-6116804085678080-l.png.
-- https://www.google.com.br/search?site=&q=Elevador+Lacerda&oi=ddle&ct=145th-anniversary-of-lacerdas-elevator-opening-6116804085678080-l&hl=pt-BR&kgmid=/g/122_gmpc&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwif-ZmDmI_fAhVClJAKHdTKDSQQPQgF.
-- https://www.google.com.br/logos/doodles/2018/145th-anniversary-of-lacerdas-elevator-opening-6116804085678080-s.png.
-- https://www.google.com.br/search?site=&q=Elevador+Lacerda&oi=ddle&ct=145th-anniversary-of-lacerdas-elevator-opening-6116804085678080-l&hl=pt-BR&kgmid=/g/122_gmpc&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwig7PHDx5HfAhUJE5AKHVaVDQMQPQgF.