Terrace awnings in Rue de la Bourse restored to former glory

Terrace awnings in Rue de la Bourse are being restored to their former glory! The new terrace awnings are based on the original model and bring back the atmosphere of the old days to the heart of the Belgian capital.

Pascal Smet, Secretary of State for Urbanism and Heritage, proudly unveiled the new look of the historic Le Grand Café, on Boulevard Anspach, situated next to the Stock Exchange. The installation of the awning is the culmination of an important phase of renovation of the city center. All the buildings on Rue de la Bourse now have new canopies designed entirely following the original model, including the iconic Cirio café. Urban.brussels closely supported this project and the Brussels Region co-financed these awnings, in collaboration with the owners of the buildings.

Brussels is being Brussels even more! We have restored the terrace canopy of Le Grand Café to its former glory, based on the original model from 1947.

Pascal Smet, Secretary of State for Urban Planning and Heritage

“The new awnings, designed according to the original models, are real jewels and testify to a great know-how. To me, they symbolise the enormous metamorphosis that the we are currently witnessing in the downtown. The authorities and the private sector are working together. The pedestrianisation of the central boulevards has changed the situation and we are now tackling buildings and public spaces in the surrounding area” says Pascal Smet, Secretary of State for Urban Planning and Heritage.

Ans Persoons, alderman of Town Planning and Public Spaces shares the enthusiasm – “We notice it over and over. if you make a place car-free, there is much more space to look at the facades. And in the pedestrian area, there are a lot of beautiful buildings to admire. The works on this area went together with a campaign by the City encouraging owners to upgrade their facades, because there were a lot of urban development infringements. And although we are not quite there yet, things are definitely moving in the right direction!”

The new awnings of the Grand Café are the result of a close collaboration between the owner Pubstone, the architectural firm Architectures Parallèles, specialized craftsman and urban.brussels – the Brussels organisation in charge of town planning and heritage, which accompanied the project from A to Z. The Brussels authorities also co-financed the important preliminary historical study as well as the actual renovation works.

The preliminary study revealed that the original structure from 1947 was still partially in place, covered with wooden planks. Even the original green color of the metal structure was still visible. Archival documents have shown the original lettering. The windows were painted with the inscriptions “Stella Artois” and “Monico Bourse”, which was the name of the café at the time. These windows and their lettering have been made identical. The Brussels Region assumed a significant share of the costs for the reproduction of the original elements. Funding from the Region amounted to a total of € 178,583.65.