The American Charles Goodyear, inventor of vulcanization, developed a procedure to process the juice of the rubber tree into rubber. The city became rich, and India rubber barons paid for a big biggest luxury from Europe, a copy the Grand Paris Opéra - the TEATRO AMAZONAS. Other monuments from this time include the MERCADO MUNICIPAL, a copy of the famous market halls Les Halles in Paris, the arts centre RIO PALACIO NEGRO between fascinating Portuguese facades. 