Boulevard Anspach

History

The Boulevard Anspach was built between 1868 and 1871, as part of the Central Boulevards, which were created after the covering of the river Senne, although the river no longer flows underneath it. Prior to 1879, it was named the Boulevard Central/Centraallaan ("Central Boulevard"), when it was renamed in honour of Jules Anspach (1829–1879), the former mayor of the City of Brussels who instigated these works.

On 4 September 1944, the Boulevard Anspach was the scene of great jubilation during the liberation of Brussels by the British Guards Armoured Division. In 1976, as part of the North–South line, the premetro took the place of the river, which was then diverted along the Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road).

In June 2012, "protest picnics" were held on the Boulevard Anspach to express dissatisfaction with the City of Brussels' mobility policy. Following these events, the city's then-mayor, Freddy Thielemans, decided to make the boulevard car-free every Sunday afternoon for the entire summer. His successor, Yvan Mayeur, wished to expand the Boulevard Anspach into a permanent pedestrian zone with a new street cover, equipped with fountains, works of art, benches and trees. On 29 June 2015, the boulevard finally became completely car-free between the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein and the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, as part of a broader pedestrianisation of Brussels' city centre ().

Notable buildings

The Boulevard Anspach is home to many buildings in neoclassical, Beaux-Arts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and eclectic styles. Some examples include:

• No. 3: Café Sésino (1875), an eclectic building by . It won the fifth prize in the architectural competition of 1876, and was demolished in 1967.
• No. 56–58: Modernist building (1939) by , originally built for Wielemans-Ceuppens breweries. It once housed the famous café Aux Armes des Brasseurs.
• No. 59–61: Eclectic apartment building (1872) by Gédéon Bordiau, decorated with caryatids by Julien Dillens
• No. 78: Café de la Bourse (1874), neo-Baroque building by
• No. 85: Pathé Palace (1913), an Art Nouveau cinema by

File:Café Sesino.png|Café Sésino (De Keyser, 1875) (demolished) File:Aux Armes des Brasseurs.JPG|Aux Armes des Brasseurs (Blomme, 1939) File:Bruxelles Immeuble de rapport éclectique 2043-02210.jpg|Apartment building (Bordiau and Dillens, 1872) File:Café de la Bourse (2).jpg|Café de la Bourse (Janlet, 1874) File:Pathé Palace (1).jpg|Pathé Palace cinema (Hamesse, 1913)

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

1. Fabienne Bradfer, Gaëlle Moury, ''Réapprendre à voir un film grâce au Palace'', ''Le Soir'', 12 February 2018, p. 23
2. Map of Suys' proposal. [[Archives of the City of Brussels. City Archives of Brussels]]: p.p. 1.169
3. "eBru {{!}} Le boulevard Anspach {{!}} Bruxelles Pentagone".
4. NWS, VRT. (2012-06-15). "Anspachlaan wordt elke zondagmiddag autovrij".
5. (7 January 2014). "Europe's Most Congested City Contemplates Going Car-Free". The Atlantic.
6. (6 February 2015). "Centrale lanen: twee fonteinen en twee fietsparkings". Brussel Nieuws.
7. (2017-02-28). "Project. Pedestrian zone".
8. "Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 56-58 - BLOMME A.".
9. "Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 59-61 - Rue du Marche aux Poulets 16-18-20 - BORDIAU Gedeon".
10. "Bruxelles Pentagone - Boulevard Anspach 76-78 - Rue de la Bourse 2 - JANLET E.".
11. "Bruxelles Pentagone - Pathe Palace - Boulevard Anspach 85-87 - Borgval 19-21-23 - Rue Jules Van Praet 24-26-28 - HAMESSE Paul".