This paper presents some issues on the social uses of photography in the documentation related to Rio de Janeiro urban transformation. Since the XIX century, the photographic image has been used as a special resource for visual representation of the city and for individual and collective memory of the larger engineering works promoted by the State.In the early years of the XX century, this kind of photography was essential for the diffusion of a new image of Rio de Janeiro embedded with the ideals of progress and civilization. Built during the years 1904 and 1905, the Central avenue ("Avenida Central") represented one of the most important human interventions in Rio de Janeiro.s landscape. Paulo de Frontin, an outstanding engineer, was in charge of this enterprise, as other main public works of the country he led between the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX.
Photography; Great works; Rio de Janeiro
