Nestled in the heart of the Atlantic Forest of the Iguaçu National Park, Foz do Iguaçu's first hydroelectric plant, the São João Plant, is being revitalized and will become a unique historical attraction on the trinational border.
The São João Plant began to be built in 1940, in the wake of the creation of the Iguaçu National Park, in 1939. Inaugurated in 1942, it operated until 1983, when the engine room was taken by a flood of the Iguaçu River.
At the time, the role of the hydroelectric plant was fundamental to guarantee the functioning of the Iguaçu National Park and the city's airport, now the headquarters of Gresfi.
The tourist visit circuit is being created based on a dive into the park's archival and museum collection, carried out by historian and museologist Pedro Louvain.
He is the one who signed the report on the Intervention Project in the São João Hydroelectric Complex. In recent years, Louvain has been studying several documents.
They are treasures from a historical and museological point of view that help to retrace the hydroelectric plant's trajectory.
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Electricity production diaries
Among the documents consulted are electricity production diaries from the 1960s. In one of these notebooks, from 1951, there is a series of notes from the mill owners, one of them congratulating them on an achievement.
Many of these records were written by the sugar mill owner Arno Welter (1922–1999).
The collection also includes a plan of the plant's water and electricity installations, dated 1947, and cost tables. There are also plans for the turbines, which came from Switzerland, written in French and German, dated April 10, 1941.
Another archival treasure are maps of the power plant's transmission line. From the analysis of the documents it is possible to see that the energy generated by the hydroelectric plant reached Jorge Schimmelpfeng and Brasil avenues, the latter at the time called Avenida Paraná.
The collection contains records of the plant's employees, including their first and last names and dependents. Another record contains correspondence from the first head of the Iguaçu National Park, Mário Câmara Cantu, responding to an IBGE questionnaire about hydroelectric production.
Based on the study of the collection, it was possible to uncover nuances of the past of Usina São João and a little of the lifestyle of the time.
Among the mapped details are caravans of donkeys and carts that left Foz do Iguaçu towards the Falls.
Engineers tried to reactivate the plant
The work on the São João Plant was so remarkable that, in 1989, a group of Itaipu employees attempted to revitalize the building.
Named the Iguaçu National Park Power Plant Recovery Group (GRUPI), it was made up of engineers.
The mission ended up being unfeasible because the members concluded that reactivating the hydroelectric plant would not be viable if the cost-benefit were taken into account.
Although the initiative never came to fruition, GRUPI left behind a rich report with photos and technical information that greatly helped Louvain prepare its opinion on the restoration of the plant. One of the albums was donated by Judge Geraldo Dutra de Andrade Neto.
Park warned when the power would be cut off
Conceived by architect Angelo Murgel, also responsible for the works at Gresfi and the Hotel das Cataratas, the plant has a neocolonial design, following the style of the architect whose inspiration was the Jesuit Missions, says Louvain.
Among the works of the architect, a contemporary of Oscar Niemeyer, were found plans that never left the drawing board. One of them is a project for the main entrance to the Iguaçu National Park.
The plant is a complex consisting of two dams, a spillway, a water tower and a powerhouse. When it was in operation, it had a capacity of 336 kilowatts (kW) – enough to supply the average consumption of two thousand homes.
At the time, the energy generated also supplied the Hotel das Cataratas and guaranteed a bit of modern life in Foz do Iguaçu. “The National Park would flash its lights to warn that it would be cut off because there was not enough power. It would also give instructions to turn on the power every other pole,” says Louvain.
The historical survey is the result of a technical cooperation signed between the Chico Mendes Institute for Conservation and Biodiversity (ICMBio) and the Federal University for Latin American Integration (Unila).
Scenography and modernity
To bring it back to life while preserving its past, the plant building is undergoing careful and detailed renovation based on historical research.
The tourist stop will be the old powerhouse, located near the São João River waterfall. Most of the building's structure will be kept intact, giving visitors a glimpse of the past.
The electricity panel will be framed, gaining an expographic expression.
A deck and a bar-café will operate on site, from where it is possible to hear the sound of the water and enjoy the greenery of the National Park.
Scenic cables will be used, and a section of the walkway will have a translucent floor so that ducts can be seen.
The experience will include the possibility of bathing in the São João River and environmental and historical interpretations.
The project is the result of a partnership between the Urbia Cataratas concessionaire and ICMBio, with the purpose of improving the experience of visitors and reinforcing the commitment to the preservation and promotion of Iguaçu National Park.
The works should be completed in the next semester, and entry to the attraction will be included in the National Park entrance fee.
For the period 2025 to 2028, Urbia Cataratas will invest R$600 million in the structure for tourist visits to the reserve.
Managed by ICMBio, the Iguaçu National Park is a federal conservation unit and the management of tourist visits is under the responsibility of the concessionaire Urbia Cataratas SA
Errata: Contrary to what had been mentioned, the São João Plant began to be built in 1940 and not in 1936. The Iguaçu National Park was created in 1939 and not in 1930.
