Rio Branco (White River) Palace is situated in the historical centre of Manaus, the capital city of the State of Amazonas, in the northern region of Brazil.
Located next to Dom Pedro II Square, the Palace sits close to the spot where, on 9 November 1823, the joining of Amazonas to the Brazilian Independence movement by the political leaders of the time took place.
The building was under construction from 1905 to 1938. It is in an eclectic style, and is one of the most architecturally important buildings in the city’s urban landscape, reminding us of the wealth at the peak of the rubber cycle.
Designed with the intention of housing the Chief of Police, it never served this purpose, falling under the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Amazonas, which moved its main offices there only in the 1970s, 34 years after it was built.
After the Legislative Assembly left the Rio Branco Palace in mid-2000, the Legislative Power, through a lease, granted the building to the State Government to create a Cultural Centre focussing on Amazonian political history studies.
The centre’s founders were Governor Eduardo Braga, twice elected, serving the period from 2003 a 2010, and Representative Belarmino Lins de Albuquerque, president of the State Legislative Assembly in 2007, when the leasing contract ended and the estate was transferred to the Secretary of Culture.
The Cultural Centre displays a permanent exhibition to the public, telling the story of the legislative power in Amazonas, with the highlight being the main events since 1852 until today, offering a wide-ranging panorama on the legislative power’s course over the provincial times (1852-1889) and since the enactment of the State of Amazonas in 1889.
Visitors also can see two temporary exhibition halls. One is for showing exhibitions about the lives and works of parliamentarians who have represented the people of Amazonas well in the federal, state or municipal political realm. The other, called Hahnemann Bacelar in honour of the Amazonian artist, is dedicated to art exhibitions.
Complementing its services, the centre provides access to a library specialising in political history, housing books, magazines, reports, constitutions, messages, laws, decrees and provincial and state regulations, constituting an important collection that unites works for the understanding of national political history.
Rio Branco Palace still maintains the Office of the President of the Legislative Assembly. Installed in the Cônego Azevedo Room, who was the first president of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Amazonas (1852), it is composed of manueline-style furniture and is ready to serve the president in official events, particularly in receiving political and diplomatic authorities.
Recife, 27 April 2011.
Translated by Peter Leamy, January 2012.
sources consulted
PALÁCIO Rio Branco. Governo do Estado do Amazonas, Secretaria de Cultura. Folder.
PALÁCIO Rio Branco. Disponível em:. Acesso em: 18 abr. 2011.
PALÁCIO Rio Branco (Fotografia neste texto). Disponível em:
. Acesso em: 29 abr. 2011.
how to quote this text
Source: OLIVEIRA, Albino. Rio Branco Palace, Manaus, Am. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <https://pesquisaescolar.fundaj.gov.br/en/>. Accessed: day month year. Exemple: 6 Aug. 2009