Rue Georges Matheus – Georges Matheusstraat

In 1840, a street was born in Brussels. It was initially called Rue Zérezo, after a former city councillor. This street, now known as Rue Georges Matheus, connected Boulevard Emile Jacqmain (present-day Boulevard Albert II) to Rue du Progrès. It even offered a route to the Laeken suburb via a bridge over the Senne river, built in 1855. The arrival of the Gare du Nord train station prompted the street’s creation. Rue Georges Matheus holds more than just a name change in its history. In 1958, the street was renamed to honor Georges Matheus, an active resistance fighter during World War II. This act also aimed to shed the street’s unsavory reputation as a hub for prostitution. The 19th-century architecture once lining Rue Georges Matheus reflected the surrounding streets. Modest and bourgeois houses stood side-by-side, many serving as hotels. Factories also dotted the area, drawn by the nearby Senne river and railway. The area underwent significant transformation in 1960. The last section of Rue du Marché, between Rue Georges Matheus and Rue des Charbonniers, was removed to create a parking lot. This parking lot remained until 1971. Rue Georges Matheus experienced further dramatic changes as part of the “Espace Nord” development plan. Today, only the buildings at the intersection of Rue du Progrès (numbers 25 and 27-29) remain from the original structures. Lost to time are buildings like the functionalist structure at numbers 17-19, formerly the “Central Tobacco Warehouse.” Another vanished landmark is the former hotel at numbers 37-39. This building housed “S.A. Sirtaine,” a wholesale store for electrical and telemechanical equipment. Interestingly, the administrator of S.A. Sirtaine initiated the “Muralists” movement in the Northern Quarter. The partial demolition of the block in 1974, to make way for Boulevard Emile Jacqmain, exposed several gable walls. These walls became canvases for monumental paintings, which sadly disappeared along with their supporting walls in 1990.