Corinthians cultural director on Parque São Jorge centenary show | OneFootball

Corinthians’ 116th anniversary, celebrated last Tuesday (1st), also made room to revisit another century-old chapter in the club’s history. In an interview with Rádio Craque Neto, Rafael Castilho, the club’s cultural director and curator of the “Parque São Jorge 100 Years” exhibition, shared details about the display prepared at the Corinthians Memorial and highlighted the importance of the social headquarters in the building and development of Timão.

In 2026, it will be a century since Corinthians acquired the land of Parque São Jorge. To mark the date, the club gathered historical records showing different periods of the headquarters, from the area’s original layout to the buildings that, over the decades, became part of everyday life for Corinthians fans.

Photo: Reproduction / Instagram: Rádio Craque Neto

While presenting the exhibition, Rafael began by emphasizing the meaning of the club’s anniversary and Corinthians’ working-class roots.

“For us, it’s a joy, because today is considered like a Corinthians Christmas, right? September first, we’re turning 116, it’s a very special date and I think Corinthians fans celebrate it a lot, right? Last night, I saw several images around the city of supporters celebrating, setting off fireworks, celebrating the miracle that Corinthians is, right? Because Corinthians is the only great club in history that was not formed by a company, by a patriarch, by a university, it was formed by a collective of workers, right? So the fact that we’ve reached 116 years with this history of victory is a story of resistance and something to celebrate.”

Exhibition recalls a century of Parque São Jorge

Parque São Jorge became part of Corinthians history in 1926. In the cultural director’s view, the headquarters played a fundamental role in allowing the club to grow both athletically and financially during different periods of its journey.

The exhibition mounted at the Memorial aims precisely to tell that story through photographs, plans, and other records. Rafael also invited supporters to come see the material.

“Here at the Corinthians Memorial, I’m inviting everyone from Rádio Craque Neto to visit the Corinthians Memorial, right? This year, in the club’s 116th year, we took the initiative to also tell the story of Parque São Jorge, because this year we celebrate 100 years since Corinthians acquired the land here at Parque São Jorge. So we put together an exhibition here, which I think is very beautiful, with historical images of Parque São Jorge, right? Today we say Corinthians is 116 years old, but for many, many decades, it was this club that was responsible for making Corinthians’ dream possible, right? All the financing, the club’s investment capacity, the football victories owed a great deal to this place here, right?”

Beyond its connection to football, Rafael highlighted the social importance of the headquarters for São Paulo’s East Zone. According to him, the space came to offer possibilities for leisure and social life in a region that, when Corinthians arrived there, was still far from the urban development it has today.

“Parque São Jorge is something very important for Corinthians fans, for the city of São Paulo, because we are in the eastern region, right, which today is one of the most populous in the city, but it was an outlying area when Corinthians came here. So Parque São Jorge has a very important role for Corinthians, for those who lived here, for those who experienced this club here, and also for the city, right, as a place for recreation. It is a popular club, one of the most popular in the city, right, and it made it possible for many people to have access to recreation and leisure, right?”

Original plan shows what the region looked like in 1926

Among the materials in the exhibition is the original plan of the first area acquired by Corinthians in 1926. The document makes it possible to see significant differences compared to today’s Parque São Jorge, including the course of the Tietê River.

While showing the record, Rafael also explained the origin of the Corinthians headquarters’ name and the relationship between the land and its former owners.

“We have the exhibition showing some things about our beloved club, right? It’s a popular club, as I said, that still today plays a role in making Corinthians accessible to more people, right? Here you will see the original plan of Parque São Jorge, of the first plot, the first part we acquired, in 1926. You can see that the river was not the straightened river we know today, right? It was a river with curves. Corinthians was a beach club, right? And here, where the Fazendinha stadium is today, Alfredo Schürig, you can see there was even an area set aside for planting.”

The cultural director went on to explain how the name Parque São Jorge came about.

“Corinthians acquired this Parque São Jorge land from two Lebanese men, Najib Salem and Assad Abdallah, right? It was a farm called Fazenda São Jorge, which is where the name Parque São Jorge came from. And that was precisely because, you can see here, how beautiful the river was, it wasn’t this straight thing, right? It came and embraced the club. And that bend in the river reminded them of Saint George Bay in Lebanon. That’s why they gave it the name Fazenda São Jorge, which has everything to do with our history of struggle, right, with our patron saint.”

Tietê River, rowing, and Fazendinha appear in the exhibition

The historical records also show the relationship Corinthians and its members had with the Tietê River. Before the transformation of the region and the river’s degradation, the area was used for leisure activities and sports.

Rowing, in fact, has a place in the exhibition because of its role in the club’s history. Rafael also mentioned other historic spots in Parque São Jorge, such as Fazendinha’s old wooden grandstand and the Tower, later linked to the period of Corinthian Democracy.

“And here we have several other images. Look, 1920, what this area looked like when Corinthians was founded. This here is the corner of São Jorge Street and Dona Elisabeth Rubiano. Let me see if I have other images here for you. Look at the role the Tietê River played in leisure, right? People would come to the beach, play in the river. How beautiful a clean river was, right, a river with its riparian forest preserved, and the importance rowing has in Corinthians history.”

“There are other images of rowing, the Tower, where Bar da Torre is, which later became an important place for Corinthian Democracy, where the players would meet, have a beer, and come up with ideas and inspiration. Our old grandstand, which was so beautiful, right? A wooden grandstand, English style. Our Fazendinha stadium, Corinthians played many matches here. Later, of course, Fazendinha became too small, right? Alfredo Schürig Stadium became too small for the size of our fanbase.”

Exhibition brings together different symbols of the Corinthians headquarters

The display is not limited to the stadium and football. Other spaces and symbols that are part of Parque São Jorge’s memory also appear in the collection presented to visitors.

Among them are the bust of Neco, the first great idol in Corinthians history, the traditional Biquinha, the São Jorge Fountain, the entrance arch, the aquatic park, the gymnasium, and the chapel.

“I invite you to come here. Our former players, the unveiling of the statue, the first bust we had here was Neco’s bust, right, our first idol, and here was the unveiling of the bust. Our Biquinha, the São Jorge Fountain. In the 116-year theme, I think whoever was at Arena Corinthians saw it, there’s the slogan, right, ‘The source of our madness,’ which highlights and refers to our São Jorge Biquinha, right? Look at the design of this arch that you know today when you arrive at Parque São Jorge.”

Speaking about the aquatic park, Rafael recalled a time when access to the coast was more difficult for part of the population and, because of that, social clubs played an important role as a leisure option.

“The aquatic park, which will also turn 100 years old, and the role it played. Today, people don’t even say, ‘I’m traveling to Guarujá, I’m traveling to Santos,’ right? People say, ‘I’m going to the beach.’ But in the past, it was very difficult to have access to the coast, to get to the beach, right? So the club really had a very important leisure role. Being a club member was important, right? People having fun here in the pool, the construction of our gymnasium, the construction of our little chapel. When we arrive at the club today, you see our little chapel, right, and our gymnasium.”

Director links preserving memory to Corinthians’ future

In closing, the cultural director also mentioned the traditional Parque São Jorge siren, used to celebrate players, and linked preserving Corinthians’ memory to the administrative challenges the club will face in the years ahead.

For Rafael, knowing the club’s own journey is a necessary part of the process of thinking about the institution’s future.

“In other words, it’s a love story that we have with this club, right? The siren sounding here, which was played for several players, including Neto, when he was here, and who also has a bust at the club today. So it’s a love story that we have with this club, right, and a challenge for the coming years to modernize, improve management, and value our culture, because anyone who doesn’t know where they came from, who doesn’t value their own history, cannot think of a better future. To think of a better future, you have to know where you came from and value your own history.”

The exhibition dedicated to the 100 years of Parque São Jorge is on display at the Corinthians Memorial and is part of the initiatives aimed at preserving the club’s black-and-white memory in the year it celebrates 116 years since its foundation.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.