In the mid-19th century, Paissandu Square was named in reference to a battle that took place before the Paraguayan War. Part of the so-called new center of São Paulo, the Largo area was sparsely populated at the beginning of the 20th century when the new Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Black Men was built there, replacing the one that had been demolished in Largo do Rosário, the old center of the capital, due to urban renovations that occurred at the time.