Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is discuss the uses of the past by analyzing the classification process of a building located at 26, Praça da República, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The building housed different institutions throughout its almost 200 years of existence. However, through the analysis of the technical and legal opinions that guided the classification process, one observes the construction of past to the building, as the one to have hosted the National Archive and, especially, to have been the first headquarters of the National Museum. Another past built for the building is that of its participation in the very construction of that place, the old Campo de Santana.

Keywords:
National Museum; Classification; Museology