Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel, Rio de Janeiro

The Copacabana Palace features a stark, white, six-story facade that stretches along the avenue like a grand ocean liner anchored in the sand. When the building opened in nineteen twenty-three, the neighborhood was mostly dunes and swamps. Businessman Octavio Guinle insisted on the project despite the lack of infrastructure, gambling that the beach would become a destination. It drew international stars like Marlene Dietrich and Orson Welles, who held court in the lobby while the city grew up around them.