Arsenal de Guerra

The SESC Arsenal, originally known as the Real Trem de Guerra and later the War Arsenal (Arsenal de Guerra), is a former arsenal in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil. John VI of Portugal mandated the creation of the arsenal in Cuiabá in 1818, shortly before the Independence of Brazil in 1822. It was completed and subsequently expanded in the 1840s in response to territorial disputes with the newly independent Spanish states. The Arsenal played an important role during the Paraguayan War (1864-1870) as a center for weapons manufacture and repair of both Brazilian and captured Paraguayan weaponry. The Arsenal later became a prison and military headquarters. The Social Service of Commerce (SESC) took ownership of the arsenal in 1989, and renovated the structure from 1989 to 2002 into an artisans market and cultural center under the name SESC Arsenal. The Arsenal was built in the French Neoclassical design of 19th century Brazil, and follows the same plan and appearance of government buildings of the period in Rio de Janeiro, many designed by Grandjean de Montigny. The SESC Arsenal has a large internal courtyard now planted with a garden. Its façade is painted in a distinct ocher with Neoclassical reliefs in white. The Arsenal was listed as a state-level listed historic structure by Mato Grosso in 1984.

Monument data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).