One of the most important arterial roads in Lisbon is the Avenida da Liberdade. The 90m/295ft wide road gradually climbs over a distance of about 1.5km/1mi from the Praça dos Restauradores to the Praça Marques de Pombal at the southern end of the Parque Eduardo VII.
The boulevard, built in 1879, forms a connecting axis between the old 18th C. quarters of the Baixa and the northern parts of the city which developed in the 19th and the 20th centuries.
The construction of the Avenida da Liberdade took interest away from the Tagus which, until then, had been the focus of attention as Lisbon's "main artery of life", and led to the opening up and general orientation of the city to the north.
The course of the Avenida da Liberdade corresponds approximate to that of one of the Tagus' earlier branches, which flowed here in pre-Christian times and combined with another branch at Rossio.
As the two main metro lines run along the Avenida da Liberdade and the Avenida Almirante Reis they follow in principle the former courses of the river beds. A forerunner of this boulevard was the Passeio Público, initiated in 1764 by Pombal after the earthquake, an extensive park laid out in this fertile former river valley. The park was used as a "promenade" where people strolled about in public in order to be seen. With the idea of building a prestigious and elegant street Lisbon turned its gaze, as was often the case, to Paris: a counterpart to the Champs Elysées was planned for Portugal's capital city. Despite numerous protests directed, amongst other things, at the felling of old trees, construction began in 1879 under the initiative of the then mayor Rosa Aráuja. The boulevard was officially opened in 1882. The Avenida da Liberdade was then used, particularly on Subways, as a promenade for Lisbon's society and became a scene of parades, march pasts and demonstrations.
During the century the character of the Avenida da Liberdade became increasingly shaped by the growing amount of traffic. The small areas of parkland and the ten rows of trees have lost their effect in competition with a total of seven lanes of thunderous traffic. Some imposing town houses dating from the time when the avenue was first developed can still be found, but on the whole the frontage has been interspersed completely thoughtlessly with plain, ill-suited new buildings, more of which are planned. During the last few decades mainly administrative and business offices, hotels, banks and shopping centers have become established here. A number of street cafes have been opened on the grassed areas, complete with pools and fountains, tempting passers-by - although not during rush-hours!
Strolling along the Avenida da Liberdade several buildings and places of interest on and around the boulevard are worthy of attention. The numbering of the houses begins at the Praça dos Restauradores, even numbers on the western side, odd on the east.
One of the oldest houses on the Avenida da Liberdade is the building housing the Aero Clube de Portugal. It was built in 1888 according to plans drawn up by the Frenchman Henri Lusseau.
The building immediately next to the Elevador da Glória, which forms the beginning of the Avenida da Liberdade, bears the name "Cafe Palladium". Nowadays, a shopping center is to be found behind its highly decorated exterior.
Casa Lambertini, built by Nicola Bagaglia, dates from 1901. Unique on the Avenida da Liberdade is the mosaic on its exterior composed of small stones and depicting stylized flowers on a gold ground.
The Cinema S. Jorge was built at the end of the 1940s by Fernando Silva and underwent fundamental alterations in 1980. The original, very spaciously designed cinema was then divided into three smaller cinemas.
The editorial offices of the Diário de Noticias were built in 1936 by the architect Pardal Monteiro and were awarded the Valmor Prize in 1940, a prize regularly presented since the turn of the century to newly erected buildings.
The offices of the old established daily paper were formerly in the Bairro Alto in the present day Rua do Diário de Noticias. In the entrance hall can be seen a painting by Almada Negreiros, one of Portugal's most famous 20th C. artists.
Address: Diario de Noticias, Avenida da Liberdade, 266 1250-149 Lisboa, , Portugal
One of the most striking buildings is the Neo-Classical no. 188, the former Tivoli cinema, built in 1924 by the architect Raul Lino. Today films are no longer shown, instead various larger functions (concerts, etc.) take place here. The kiosk, which stood in front of the Tivoli cinema, was installed here in 1925 by the directorship of the Diário de Noticias. It has been maintained as the last of several of its type which once stood in the Avenida da Liberdade.
The main seat of the Communist PCP is located today in the Hotel Vitória, designed by Cassiano Branco in 1936. During the 1930s the architect built many houses and some large cinemas.
During the first decade of this century many of the houses in Lisbon were designed by the architect Norte Júnior and many were awarded the Valmor Prize, including building no. 206-218, which received it in 1916.
A short distance from the Avenida da Liberdade, where there is an exit from the Rua das Portas de Santo Antao/Rua S. José, is the Lavra lift. It was opened in 1884 as the city's first funicular railroad and thus constitutes the oldest of the four elevadores still in existence in Lisbon.
From the upper station the following can easily be reached: the Jardim de Torel viewpoint on the Rua de Júlio de Andrade, the Campo dos Mártires da Pátria with its charming park and the memorial to Dr Sousa Martins.
The most impressive monument on the Avenida da Liberdade is the war memorial, erected to honor the Portuguese soldiers who died in the First World War.
On the Rua Rosa Araúja a memorial was erected in 1936, dedicated to the initiator of the Avenida da Liberdade: Rosa Araúja held the office of mayor, when it was decided to build this boulevard. The figure of a woman wearing a crown shaped like a small tower is meant to embody the city of Lisbon. She is presenting the mayor with a bunch of flowers as thanks for the avenue that enhances the city.
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