page_title: Chiado
section_title: 1988 fire
hierarchical_section_title: Chiado / History / 1988 fire
caption_attribution_description: View of Garrett Street in the Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal
context_page_description: The Chiado is a neighborhood in the historic center of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Chiado is an important cultural and commercial district, known for its luxury shopping, historic landmarks, and its numerous theatres and museums. In 1988, the Chiado area was severely affected by a fire. Following an extensive rehabilitation project by Pritzker-winning architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, the Chiado has recovered and become one of the most valuable real estate markets in Portugal.
context_section_description: In the early hours of August 25, 1988, a fire started at the Grandella department store in Rua do Carmo (Carmo Street) and quickly spread to Rua Garrett (Garrett Street) and others, affecting a total of 18 buildings (corresponding to an 8000 m² land footprint) in the Chiado area, of which 11 were full losses with structure collapse, including the Armazéns do Chiado and Grandella department stores, that never reopened, along with several other historical shops also destroyed.
  The fire was fought by 1,680 firefighters from throughout the country, and was put out by 16:00 local time. Several anecdotes indicate that the poorly equipped fire crews and access difficulties (especially at Rua do Carmo) combined with the extensive flammable contents (including gas bottles for sale on the stores) meant the firefighters struggled to cope with such a large scale urban fire. Two people were killed, and 73 were injured (60 of them firemen). Between 200 and 300 people lost their homes, and close to 2000 people lost their jobs. In terms of the extent of the city affected and number of destroyed buildings, the Chiado fire is often considered the worst disaster to strike the city since the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Although it is known that the fire started with a slow combustion on the top floor of the Grandella building (which is unlikely in the event of intentional fire, that typically spreads quickly) the cause was never fully determined.
  In 1989 the Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira was invited by the mayor of Lisbon Krus Abecasis to oversee the reconstruction project for the area. This rebuilding project was mostly completed by 1999, and included a shopping centre on the former Armazéns do Chiado building and the new Baixa-Chiado station of the Lisbon Metro, as well as new public spaces. The exterior look of the buildings was restored, while the interiors have been completely rebuilt according to modern construction techniques and safety regulations. The last feature of Siza's project was opened in 2015, the Terraços do Carmo, a structure comprising a series of balconies and belvederes behind the ruins of the Carmo Convent, that includes the upper landing of the Santa Justa Lift.
caption: Rua Garrett, the principal shopping street in the Chiado.
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