Marechal Rondon Communications Museum

Technology museum located in Ji-Paraná in the State of Rondônia, Amazon Region of Brazil. It is dedicated to show the history of the expansion of the telegraph to the state as well as the use of telephones and televisions in the 20th century.

Marechal Rondon Communications Museum
Photo by José Valderi Pereira
Type:	Tecnology Museum
Country:	Brazil
Establishment:	1985

The Marechal Rondon Communications Museum (Portuguese: Museu das Comunicações Marechal Rondon) is a technology museum located in Ji-Paraná in the State of Rondônia, Amazon Region of Brazil. It is dedicated to show the history of the expansion of the telegraph to the state as well as the use of telephones and televisions in the 20th century.

History

The museum is located in a former telegraph station built in 1912 and finally inaugurated in 1914, being one of the first telegraph stations for the State and later used as the headquarters of the Post and Telegraph Office; then in 1985, it was converted into a Communications Museum.^[1]

The building was constructed by the Commission of Construction of Telegraph Lines of Mato Grosso and the Amazon (Portuguese: Comissão de Linhas Telegráficas do Mato Grosso ao Amazonas). During the 70's, the building was abandoned, until it was restored as a museum, subsequently inscribed on the heritage list of the National Institute of Artistic and Historical Heritage (IPHAN) in 2015.^[2]

In May 2013, the museum launched an exhibition of antique radios organized by the 11th edition of the National Museum Week in the state, organized by the Brazilian Institute of Museums (IBRAM), with around 37 antique radios, one of which dates from the 1920s.^[3]

In May 2016 for the 16th edition of the National Museums Week in Brazil, an event was organized in the museum to show photographs used by old cameras, showing the cultural landscapes of Rondônia, such as the establishment of churches, traditionally built houses located in rural areas as well as squares and parks in the center of the towns.^[4]

Collections

The museum contains several telegraphs, telephones, material used in radio stations, cables, antennas in addition to a photographic collection of the peoples of Rondônia and material used for the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, which connects Porto Velho and Guajará-Mirim, in addition to ethnographic material of the indigenous peoples in Ji-Paraná.^[5]

Gallery

A telephone switchboard alongside several rotary telephones. (2017) - Photo by Gisele Finatti Baraglio

A vacuum tube radio transformed into a transistorized radio, which was used in the 1950s (2016) - Photo by the Museum's FB Page

Antique televisions exhibited in the museum, among them one produced by Philco, which were marketed in South America in the decades from 1910 to 1920 (2012) - Photo by the Museum's FB Page

Photographs taken between the 60's and 70's about how the Digút/Ikoro (Gavião) communities use corn for food preparation (2013) - Photo by the Museum's FB Page

References

1. Silva, G. O. da. (2018). Patrimônios históricos na Amazônia: História, memória, turismo e preservação. Universidade Federal do Amazonas. (Page 49) (in Portuguese)

2. Prefeitura autoriza reforma do Museu das Comunicações Marechal Rondon. (2020-11-13) Tudo Rondônia (in Portuguese)

3. Museu de Ji-Paraná, RO, apresenta exposição de rádios antigos. (2013-05-22). Globo Rondônia. (in Portuguese)

4. Arte: Museu das Comunicações homenageia paisagens culturais. (2016). Diário da Amazônia. (in Portuguese)

5. França, M. (2000). Guia de museus brasileiros. Universidade de São Paulo. Comissão de Patrimônio Cultural. ISBN: 978-85-314-0572-3 (Page 343) (in Portuguese)