The Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães, also known as Casarão Higienópolis, is one of the historic palaces that remain in São Paulo. Inaugurated in 1937, it now houses the Paço das Artes and hosts sporadic luxury events in a restored environment that retains all the splendor of its original architecture.
What few people know is that, behind all the limelight and elegance, the palace has a peculiar reputation: it’ s haunted. Get to know the history of Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães and understand how this Higienópolis icon became the setting for chilling legends!
Why does the Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães have a reputation for being haunted?
Carlos Leôncio de Magalhães, the famous Nhonhô, was one of São Paulo’s greatest coffee barons. In 1927, he decided to build an imposing palace in the capital to host parties and events for São Paulo’s high society. He commissioned the construction of the current Casarão Higienópolis, which was finished in 1939.
But fate played tricks and Nhonhô passed away before the inauguration of his beloved mansion. To make matters worse, two of his sons died in the mansion shortly afterwards: one drowned in the bathtub and the other was supposedly hanged by the chandelier in the main hall.
These episodes led to the legend that the Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães was cursed, which brought even more mystery to the place. Coincidentally or not, in 1948 – less than ten years after its inauguration – Nhonhô’s widow decided to sell the mansion, passing it on to the Government of São Paulo.
A new phase for the mansion!
Since it left the hands of the Magalhães family, the mansion has had various uses – it was the headquarters of the Public Security Secretariat from 1974 to 1994, for example. Until, in 2005, the property went up for auction and was snapped up by Shopping Pátio Higienópolis.
The new owners invested more than R$15 million to completely restore the mansion. It took 10 years of work to restore Casarão de Nhonhô Magalhães (then called Casarão Higienópolis) to its original splendor. Since then, part of the property has been the realization of Nhonhô’s dream: a space for luxury private events such as weddings and fashion shows, with rents of at least R$40,000.
Another part of the property, however, remains accessible to the public. After all, it houses the Paço das Artes, which promotes free exhibitions and cultural activities! So how about setting aside a day at the weekend to visit São Paulo’s most charming “haunted mansion”?