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Leaning Towers of Santos
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By Kyle Hedlund
Skip the trip to Pisa, Santos has all the wobbly edifices one would ever need to gawk at (or take photos of). The problem started back in the 40's, 50's, and 60's with the foundations of buildings along the Santos beachfront. Below a seven-meter layer of sand is a 30-40 meter deep bed of clay that doesn't cope well with the weight of the structures. Today a walk or drive along the orla da praia (beachside drive), especially between Canals 3 and 6, gives you the sense of being caught freeze-frame in a major earthquake.
The bandy buildings are actually quite scary to look at. It's not rare to see people pointing and commenting that they seem ready to fall at any moment. I kept imagining trouble if all the poor residents decided to go use their same side bathroom at the same time. In all, there are about 90 structures with this unfortunate characteristic, and Santos appears to have the only such problem in Brazil.
Only one of the buildings, the Núncio Malzoni next to the Pinacoteca by Canal 4, has been put back straight, but more restoration is possible in the future. Santos city hall and a local university are studying the soil and other elements. The main obstacle, predictably, is money. You can follow this link to see more photos, as well as diagrams and explanations (in Portuguese):
http://www.lmc.ep.usp.br/people/hlinde/Estruturas/deslocamento.htm
(scroll down past the earthquake stuff)
Near Canal 4 there is a place called Bar Torto after the torto building in which it is housed. If you leave there staggering drunk you might just think everything is fine.
To read previous articles written by Kyle Hedlund, click below:
Brazil Destination: Caminhos do Mar
Festa Junina
Brazil: Embu Das Artes
Brazilian Beer Taste Test
Who Is Santos Dumont?
Brazilian Music
Brazil: Mixing the Perfect Caipirinha
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6/21/2005
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