Avenue Léon Mahillon – Léon Mahillonlaan

Did you know a military man inspired the name of Avenue Léon Mahillon? Right here in Schaerbeek, this avenue stretches from Place des Chasseurs Ardennais to the Topaze-Émeraude-Milcamps crossroads. It crosses Avenue Félix Marchal, Rue Victor Hugo, and Avenue du Diamant. Avenue Léon Mahillon honors Léon Mahillon, a Belgian military captain, professor at the École Militaire, and creator of the Habitations Ouvrières. He was born in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean in 1854 and died in Brussels in 1896. The avenue’s creation occurred in two phases. The first section, between Rue du Noyer and Rue Victor Hugo, was established in 1902. It was developed alongside two other avenues flanking the former Prince Baudouin barracks. These 20-meter wide roads resulted from a 1901 agreement between the municipality and the state. The state covered half the cost for the land along the barracks. This initial part of Avenue Léon Mahillon opened in 1904-1905. The odd-numbered side, up to Avenue Charbo, became part of Place des Chasseurs Ardennais in 1946. The second part of Avenue Léon Mahillon was planned within the Linthout district in 1903-1904. Octave Houssa, the municipal engineer, designed it. It was approved in 1904 and finalized in 1906, along with three other new Schaerbeek districts: Monrose, Vallée Josaphat, and Monplaisir-Helmet. This section opened in 1908. Road works concluded in 1913. Primarily built between 1908 and 1912, Avenue Léon Mahillon features eclectic-style houses and apartment buildings. Several rows form cohesive architectural ensembles. Numbers 23 to 33 stand out. Two large ensembles were designed in 1911 for the cooperative insurance company La Populaire. Architect Théodore Semaille designed the first (numbers 44 to 58-60 Avenue Léon Mahillon and 70-72 Rue Victor Hugo). Architect René Doom designed the second (numbers 62 to 82 Avenue Léon Mahillon and 60 Avenue du Diamant). Architect Pierre Decnop designed numbers 39 to 45 for contractor J.-B. Decnop in 1910. Numbers 73 and 75 were designed by Charles Rifflart in 1910. Number 40-42, at the corner of Rue Victor Hugo, dates from around 1910. Numbers 30-32 and 57-59 were designed for Foyer Schaerbeekois in 1902, along with housing groups on Rue Victor Hugo. The second building was reconstructed in 1968. Towards the end of Avenue Léon Mahillon, houses and apartment buildings from the interwar period, often Art Deco inspired, appear. Among them is the group of houses from number 123 to 127. Today, as you stand on Avenue Léon Mahillon, you’re surrounded by echoes of this rich architectural and social history.