Inception and construction The Avenue Louise was first proposed in 1844 by two private property developers, Jean-Philippe De Joncker and Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, who submitted to the
City of Brussels a plan for a monumental avenue bordered by
chestnut trees that would allow easy access from
Brussels' city centre to the popular recreational area of the
Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos. This large avenue was to be drawn as an extension of the district they had created in 1838–39 around the current "Louise bottleneck" (
see below). Inspired by the
Boulevards of Paris, it was also to be one of the first
Haussmann-esque arteries of the city. Originally, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the towns of
Saint-Gilles and
Ixelles—then, as now, separate municipalities (local authorities) from the City of Brussels—through whose territories the avenue was to run. The
Belgian Government had declared the project a public utility in 1844, and the private developer was granted a
concession to start the project in 1851, but it failed to follow through, and by 1856, that concession was revoked. However, by 1859, the Government regranted the concession to the same developer, as long as the City of Brussels would carry out the construction. Development began soon after, with preliminary work on grading starting in June 1860. After years of fruitless negotiations, the City of Brussels finally annexed the narrow band of land needed for the avenue, in addition to the Bois de la Cambre itself, in April 1864, They occupied numbers 347, 418, 453 and 510; On 20 January 1943,
Baron Jean de Sélys Longchamps, a Brussels-born fighter pilot in the
Royal Air Force, mounted a solo attack on the headquarters at number 453. Benefitting from the wide avenues, and the large height of the apartment block relative to the neighbouring buildings, he flew his
Hawker Typhoon at a low altitude straight towards the building, firing the plane's 20 mm cannons, before returning to England. The torture that took place there brought the Avenue Louise's name considerable infamy at the time. A monument to Baron de Selys Longchamps now stands in front of number 453.
Contemporary The Avenue Louise was redeveloped after 1950 in preparation for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (
Expo 58), transforming it into an urban
motorway (see
Brusselisation) by tunnelling the main intersections and offering direct access to the
Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). The northern part is sunken and has three tunnels—all housed in the central lane, which was widened by the removal of two rows of trees—with
level crossings and car parking spaces aboveground. The three tunnels are, from north to south: the Stéphanie Tunnel, the Bailli Tunnel and the short Vleurgat Tunnel. From the 1960s onwards, the Avenue Louise was gradually transformed into an office district. The first special development plan for the Avenue Louise, drawn up in 1970, merely acknowledged this transformation. Although it attempted to remedy the discrepancies in the avenue's silhouette, the plan made no pronouncement on the allocation of the buildings, giving free rein to land
speculation. The 1970 plan also authorised the construction of towers on the avenue. High-rise buildings such as the Louise Tower (1965), the ITT Tower (1973) and the Blue Tower (1976) date from this period. At the end of the 1990s, the JNC International SA office, as part of the
chemin de la ville project, studied the redevelopment of public spaces on the Avenue Louise, with the installation of new sculptures and lighting, and the redesign of
pavements and surface parking areas. In spite of this, much of the post-war configuration still exists today. It implies that no
metro line runs through the avenue, despite its high built density and its multiple functions of shops/offices/housing, the latter being in a way replaced by these tunnels. However,
tram lines 8 and 93 operate on their own site from the Place Stéphanie to the Woluwe depot. The Avenue Louise is currently one of the most attractive addresses for office space. With some of
tertiary surfaces, it accounts for more than a fifth of the market in this sector in the Brussels Region. Luxury shops, restaurants, art galleries and
antique dealers all contribute to the liveliness and reputation of the avenue. Although regarded as a prestigious street during the day, at night, however, it has a reputation for unauthorised
prostitution. ==Landmarks==