Lagos Cultural Centre is this month celebrating its 20th anniversary. The building, in the heart of the city, was concluded in 1989 and inaugurated in 1992 by the then Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva, now President of the Republic.
The necessity to create such a space resulted from the variety of cultural initiatives that were emerging in the 70s in the city.
It was in 1976 that Lagos Câmara launched the idea of building the future Centro Cultural de Lagos (CCL) and acquired a dilapidated building, known then as the Casa dos Ricos (The House of the Rich People), from D. Maria do Patrocínio Zuzarte Sárrea Gaivão for a symbolic amount of 500,000 escudos (almost €2,500)
In 1977, a public tender for the project was launched and awarded to Eng. Emídio Batista. As the project did not progress, in 1981 architect Vaz Pinto de Queiroz took over the responsibility of creating new plans for the cultural centre, whose construction concluded in 1989 and represented an investment of 400 million escudos (almost €2 million).
Music, cinema, theatre, dance shows and art exhibitions all find a place at the CCL.
