OK, how many of you really recognize the school above?  Now that we've established you are so old you played Ring-Around-the-Roses with Peter, Paul, and Moses, it is our sincere wish that you seize the moment and enjoy each day as if it were your last.  Tempus fuget!  Get in touch with those old but not forgotten friends!  This is what the Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro looked like in Leblon after its expansion (1940 - 1970).  Note how the second floor extends to the right beyond the front of the building shown on the "Welcome" page.  The second floor extended to the original gate to the right side of the building, creating the great covered area adjacent to the auditorium.  Here are some photos of the Old EA in Leblon.

The above photo shows some of the original EA building in Leblon.  In the early 1960's the "New" Leblon High School building was added to the far right side.  The school structures above became the elementary school.  Click HERE to see more of old EA in Leblon photos.  The "New" Leblon High School is the first picture.

Sadly, we must report that the entire Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro in Leblon was bulldozed in the 1980's.  The younger generation of Cariocas eagerly bulldozed almost every single house in Ipanema and Leblon, replacing them with high rise apartment buildings.   So much for historical preservation.  Maybe one day they will realize the tremendous loss they inflicted upon one of the world's most beautiful cities.  A lot of the beauty was simply destroyed.  Follow the links below to see the Old EA neighborhood as it looks today.

A huge apartment complex sits on top of old EA in Leblon now.  Old EA is all gone.  The Papelaria across the street is still there, but it doesn't sell many school supplies anymore, just lots of "brinquedos" (toys).  It is still definitely worth a visit.  Buy something.  Menezes ice cream store is gone, too.  The house and apartments across the street from old EA look the same for those of us who attended in the 1960's [except for the graffiti, which is EVERYWHERE in Rio.  According to our cab driver, it has become quite the fad to see who can "tag" the most hard-to-get-to places.  Someone even "tagged" Corcovado!!!].  Looking along Rua General Urquiza today, you can almost picture yourself hanging out after school in front of EA buying a Kibon from Cabral.  Around the corner, the street taking you to the canal still looks familiar.   At least La Mole's is still there!  [ Great Pizza, but be careful.  For a short time a Pizza Hut went up across the street where the old mechanic's garage was, where the bonde used to turn and head back towards Ipanema.  Mole's must have felt the competition because they changed the way they made pizza.  Be careful which one you order.  In the end, Mole's won.  The Pizza Hut is now a McDonald's!]  How many of us walked along the canal on Avenida Visconde de Albuquerque?  It still looks the same, except for the graffitti.  How many of you lived in the "Wedding CaKe"?  Remember where Nick and Randy Weyland lived across from the Wedding Cake?  Their house was bulldozed and an apartment sits on the lot at the same angle to the street.  E triste.