108 Years ago, began the demolition of Funchal's civil jail, located in Largo da Sé (now Rua Dr. António José de Almeida).

At that time, the building that had belonged to Guiomar Madalena de Sá Vilhena (1705-1789), an influential Madeiran businesswoman who owned an important maritime commercial fleet and properties such as “Quinta das Angústias” and “Quinta do Palheiro Ferreiro”, was considered a black spot in the city. Its deactivation was long overdue, the press at the time indicates 90 years of clamor, for defying the hygiene, decency and aesthetics of a noble area, of religious, social and tourist relevance.

The civil jail demolition was marked with pomp and circumstance, and, in a symbolic act, the civil governor, Major Sá Cardoso, and the president of the General Board, General Daniel Soares, respectively armed with an iron bar and a pickaxe, gave the first hit the top of the building. The demolition represented not only the beginning of a new urban layout, but also a break with the past regime, in a sublime way of republican ideals. In the bandstand set up for the purpose, a philharmonic played “A Portuguesa” and volleys of grenades and rockets were launched in girândolas, amid the applause and cheers that the official speeches aroused among the many people who attended the ceremony.

Credits: Museu de Fotografia da Madeira - Atelier Vicente's

PERESTRELLOS PHOTOGRAPHOS
Demolition of Funchal civil jail building | 1913-11-29
17.8 x 23.8 cm | Simple negative, glass | Gelatin and silver salts
MFM-AV, inv. PER/229
On deposit at DRABM