Elevador da Bica

Bica Funicular (Ascensor da Bica)
Funicular (Funicular/Ascensor/Elevador)
A view of the lower funicular station along Rua de São Paulo
Official name: Ascensor da Bica
Country	Portugal
Region	Lisbon
Subregion	Greater Lisbon
District	Lisbon
Municipality	Lisbon
Location	Beato
- coordinates	38°42′30.7″N 9°8′48.8″W / 38.708528°N 9.146889°W / 38.708528; -9.146889Coordinates: 38°42′30.7″N 9°8′48.8″W / 38.708528°N 9.146889°W / 38.708528; -9.146889
Architects	Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard
Materials	Mixed masonry, Plaster, Limestone, Stucco, Wrought and cast iron
Owner	Portuguese Republic
For public	Public
Easiest access	Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo/Rua de São Paulo
Management	Instituto Gestão do Patrimonio Arquitectónico e Arqueológico
Status	National Monument
Listing	Decree 5/2002, Diário de República, Série-1B, 42 (19 February 2002); Special Protection Zone, Dispatch 398/2010, Diário da República Série-2, 112 (11 June 2010)
Location of the funicular within the municipality of Lisbon
Website: www.carris.pt/en/ascensor-da-bica/

The Bica Funicular (Portuguese: Ascensor da Bica), sometimes known as the Elevador da Bica (Bica Lift), is a funicular railway line in the civil parish of Misericórdia, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal. It connects the Rua de São Paulo with Calçada do Combro/Rua do Loreto, operated by Carris.

In 1888, the municipality of Lisbon celebrated a contract with the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores de Lisboa providing them a concession to the installation of a lift system that connected the Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo to the Rua de São Paulo along the Largo do Calhariz. The project was conceived by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard. The mechanical motor of the elevator was installed in 1890, after the conclusion of the public work. Yet, the lift only began functioning on 28 June 1892, after a couple of years of tests.

In 1912, the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa signed a new contract with the municipality, allowing it to expand the electrification of all the lines. Between 1914 and 1916, the project to automate the transport system using electrical systems was completed. Unfortunately, during the conclusions of the process there was an accident with one of the cars, which became uncontrollable and crashed into the Rua de São Paulo lower station, resulting in its complete destruction. As a result, the funicular transport became inoperable for the next few years.

In 1923, the municipal council demanded that company return the Bica lift to operation, forcing it to work on the line and install new cars, provided by the firm of Theodore Bell. After the dissolution of the Nova Companhia dos Ascensores Mecânicos de Lisboa the lift became the property of Companhia Carris (or, simply, Carris). In 1927, the funicular returned to operation.

On 29 September 2005, it was proposed that the funicular be included in the Special Protection Zone by the DRCLVTejo. In 2009 the dispatch was approved by the Minister of Culture, and on 20 May 2011, the declaration was ratified that classified the lift with the architectural protection zone (Diário da República, 874/2011, Série-2, 98).

The funicular system is situated on the edge of the Pombaline downtown area of Lisbon overlooking the Tagus River, implanted along an axis dominated by an accentuated slope. Its course follows an area of predominantly rental buildings constructed during the 18th century, .