History

History

 

Palácio da Bolsa, headquarters and property of Associação Comercial do Porto, is a neoclassical style building, whose construction started on the 6th October 1842, the day where the first stone was put to place, due to the closure of the stock exchange that obliged the Porto traders to discuss their business on open air.

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    October 6, 1842

    Associação Comercial do Porto launches the first stone for the construction of Palácio da Bolsa, under the presidency of José Henriques Soares, Barão de Ancede. The general project of the building was designed by the architect Joaquim da Costa Lima.
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    November 4, 1850

    The works of the first floor of the building and the main front are finished. "This house of ours is rising from its ruins and is already quite beautiful," would not fail to exult the Board in the respective annual report.
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    1860s

    The exquisite work of the interiors of Palácio da Bolsa took place from the 1860s, taking the works new course. A close connection developed between these works and those that were being carried out in the construction of the old Palácio da Cristal. Due to its long duration and the quality required, the construction of Palácio da Bolsa became a real school for the artists who worked there.
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    June 12, 1880

    The Arab Room, the jewel of the Palace, is inaugurated on the occasion of the celebrations of the tricentenary of Camões. The construction of this emblematic space, designed by Gustavo Adolfo Gonçalves e Sousa, took place over 18 years.
  • 1909

    The works and decoration of Palácio da Bolsa are completed in 1909, on the occasion of the visit of King D. Manuel II, shortly before the proclamation of the Republic.
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    October 05, 1910

    With the implementation of the Republic, on October 5, 1910, Palácio da Bolsa is inventoried and vacated and public ownership of the building is drawn up on February 11, 1911. One of the paintings of a monarch present in one of the rooms of the building – the one of D. Carlos I - was vandalized with two shots of pistol. Associação Comercial do Porto regained possession of the building in 1918, during the rule of Sidónio Pais.