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The Franjinhas Building, on the corner of Rua Braamcamp and Rua Castilho, in 2019. GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0

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An office building of exposed concrete, its façade covered in small arches and projecting fins in relief that give it the look of fringes, on a corner, under a dark blue sky.
The Franjinhas Building, on the corner of Rua Braamcamp and Rua Castilho, in 2019. GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0

Santo António

Edifício Franjinhas — the restaurant of the carnations

This was the home of the Sir, the restaurant where Celeste Caeiro worked. It turned one year old on 25 April 1974: it did not open, and the carnations bought for the celebration were given to the women on the staff — the carnations that Celeste took down to the Baixa.

Today: Edifício Franjinhas
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History

The Sir, a self-service restaurant, opened in this building in April 1973. For its first anniversary, the owners bought carnations to give to the women customers — and, according to Observador, a glass of port for the men.1

On the morning of 25 April 1974, when Celeste Caeiro arrived, at nine, the owner announced that the restaurant would not open, “because there’s a revolution going on”. The carnations were taken out of the storeroom and handed out to the women on the staff, so that they would not wilt. Celeste took a bunch and caught the metro down to the Baixa.2 What happened next is told on Rua do Carmo.

The building, by Nuno Teotónio Pereira and João Braula Reis, designed and built between 1965 and 1969, won the 1971 Valmor Prize and has been a monument of public interest since 21 June 2011.93 Nuno Teotónio Pereira was among those detained at the vigil in the Capela do Rato; at the end of 1973 he was beaten and subjected to sleep torture.4

Seven weeks before the revolution, on 5 March 1974, the Captains’ Movement scheduled a clandestine plenary meeting here; on the day itself, it moved the meeting to Cascais, where the choice of a coup was accepted as irreversible.5

Notes on the sources3
  • The street number (OpenStreetMap and a City Council publication give Rua Braamcamp, 9) and the restaurant’s exact unit in the building.
  • The Sir’s opening date (25 April 1973) and the detail of the glass of port come from the press, not from an institutional source.
  • Whether there is any marker commemorating Celeste Caeiro on the building.

Do you know more, or do you have a document? Tell us.

Sources9
  1. 1Morreu Celeste Caeiro, a mulher que distribuiu cravos aos militares no 25 de Abril. Tinha 91 anos. Observador — consulted on 2 October 2026
  2. 2Onde eu estava há 50 anos por... Celeste Caeiro. Diário de Notícias — consulted on 2 October 2026
  3. 3Edifício Franjinhas. Wikipédia (português) — consulted on 2 October 2026
  4. 4«A paz é possível»: algumas notas sobre o caso da Capela do Rato (António de Araújo). Lusitania Sacra, 2.ª série, 16 (2004), pp. 431-463 – Universidade Católica Portuguesa — consulted on 2 October 2026
  5. 5Reunião de Cascais. Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
  6. 625 de Abril. Celeste Caeiro, a mulher que pintou Lisboa e o país de cravos. A Mensagem de Lisboa — consulted on 2 October 2026
  7. 7«Fui para ao pé do soldado e digo assim: 'Olhe, não tenho cigarros mas tenho aqui este cravinho'»: Celeste Caeiro (1933-2024). CNN Portugal — consulted on 2 October 2026
  8. 8Celeste e Guilhermina: a flor do acaso (António Araújo, 28/7/2024). Diário de Notícias — consulted on 2 October 2026
  9. 9Franjinhas. Nuno Teotónio Pereira — arquivo e memória (nunoteotoniopereira.pt) — consulted on 4 October 2026Edifício de Nuno Teotónio Pereira e João Braula Reis, no cruzamento das ruas Braamcamp e Castilho, projetado e construído entre 1965 e 1969; Prémio Valmor de 1971 (entregue em 1973); monumento de interesse público desde 21 de junho de 2011.

Coordinates: OpenStreetMap (Nominatim), consultado a 2 de outubro de 2026.

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