Edifício Chopin — Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

About the building

Edifício Chopin opened in 1956 on the Copacabana beachfront, right next to the Copacabana Palace hotel — part of the Pedra do Inhangá rock had to be dynamited to make room for it.

Commissioned by the Polish entrepreneur Henryk Spitzman Jordan and designed under French architect Jacques Pilon, it was one of the first buildings in Copacabana with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Its three linked blocks are named for Chopin's music — Chopin, Prelúdio and Ballada — and the apartments, ranging from roughly 250 to 1,000 m², look straight out over the sea.

Address: Avenida Atlântica, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

History

Since its inauguration the Chopin has been a fixture of Rio high society, as well known for its New Year's Eve parties as for its long roster of famous tenants.

In photos

Copacabana beachfront and the Copacabana Palace hotel, Rio de Janeiro, circa 1930 — the avenue where Edifício Chopin would rise in 1956 — Copacabana & the Palace, c.1930 · Instituto Moreira Salles (public domain)

Notable residents

João Goulart President of Brazil from 1961 to 1964, who lived here with his family before being deposed by the military coup.
Gilberto Gil Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, a founder of the Tropicália movement and Brazil's Minister of Culture from 2003 to 2008.
Adolpho Bloch Media magnate who founded the magazine Manchete and the Manchete television network.
Maitê Proença One of Brazil's best-known stage, film and television actresses.
Narcisa Tamborindeguy A Rio socialite and television personality famous across Brazil for her exuberant public persona.