Ferrovia Estrada do Norte, formerly the Central do Brasil) in the 19th century marked the start of a century of growth. This began slowly, with new housing built following the line of the railway track. In the upper part of the area, there was substantial development along the Rua Tibúrcio de Souza, a major road leading to the nearby municipality of Ferraz de Vasconcelos. Around the turn of the 19th century many families from Germany and in particular the former Yugoslavia purchased small farms in the same area, concentrating on agriculture and dairy farming. Many of the descendants of these families still live locally, in the area known today as Vila Melo and Caixa d'Agua. During the 1930s and 1940s the most profitable local industries were the brickworks producing bricks and roof tiles. In the 1950s Itaim Paulista experienced major changes as the pace of settlement increased. In 1957 the creation of the parish of São João Batista de Itaim — St John the Baptist of Itaim — was a further stimulus to the growth of the area. Autonomous status In the 1970s the Prefecture of São Paulo, the city's central authority, decentralised administrative functions to newly created local authorities, including São Miguel Paulista. Itaim Paulista was included in the Subprefecture of São Miguel Paulista. However Itaim Paulista was neglected by the São Miguel administration, who prioritised São Miguel itself and the areas around the commercial center. With central funding proportional to the share of population, the contribution from Itaim Paulista ensured that the budget for São Miguel Paulista was always the Prefecture's third largest. However investment was inevitably targeted on São Miguel Paulista and Itaim Paulista was treated as simply a means of ensuring population figures remained high. On 19 May 1980 Itaim Paulista was separated off from São Miguel Paulista and the budget is now administered directly by Itaim Paulista, to the benefit of local residents. Parish Church of São João Batista On 17 June 1951, Itaim Paulista's first chapel was opened. It was built on land deeded to the Archdiocese of São Paulo by the Cia. Bandeirantes S/A corporation in 1950. At that time the main São Paulo-Rio highway ran alongside the property and the water used for the chapel's construction was brought by truck from the Itaim river in 200-liter drums. The original chapel was demolished on 30 May 1953, to make way for a new