In Kinshasa's
urban history, the city evolved from the
Belgian Congo settlement founded by
Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 at
Léopoldville (
Kintambo-
Ngaliema), situated to the west of the
downtown area. However, a subsequent settlement emerged just a few kilometers upstream at Chief Ntsuvila's village of Nshasha (
Kinshasa commune-
Gombe commune). Over time, the need for connectivity between these two centers became evident, facilitated by the
Matadi–Kinshasa Railway line established in 1898. In 1912, District Commissioner
Georges Moulaert advocated for consolidating the administrative units of
Léopoldville commune, Kalina (now
Gombe commune), and Ndolo, leading to the construction of a road connecting Léopoldville and
Kinshasa. As the
commercial hub of the colony, Kinshasa commune's rapid growth outpaced Léopoldville, prompting the relocation of the port from Leopoldville to the Kinshasa commune a catalyst for further development. This progression laid the groundwork for the creation of a new boulevard when the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway line was reconstructed in 1923. In 1939, the vision of a grand boulevard gained momentum, with a monument honoring
King Albert I of Belgium unveiled on the new Place de la Gare (now Place de l'Indépendance).
World War II temporarily altered these plans, but by 1942, the boulevard had extended to Avenue du Port (the intersection at the current Grand Poste). Following the war, key sections of the boulevard were paved, supporting the emergence of public transit for African workers. In the early 1950s,
urban planning aimed to impart an imperial grandeur to Léopoldville, with the boulevard at its core. By 1953, the boulevard extended five kilometers to Kalina, featuring structures like the Sabena buildings (designed by Claude Laurens), the Royal residential-commercial building (constructed by FORESCOM Building contractor Henri Trenteseaux), and a
Le Corbusier-inspired apartment complex for civil servants. After Independence, while the boulevard's development remained relatively static, a symbolic renaming to Boulevard du 30 Juin took place on 30 June 1963, in honor of
Congo's Independence Day from Belgium on 30 June 1960. == Rehabilitation ==