“Ever heard the tale of a street named after a local hero?” That’s the story of Rue Émile Delva. It is Émile Delvastraat in Dutch. This Brussels street isn’t just a road. It’s a tribute to a man who shaped the Laeken district.
Rue Émile Delva connects Rue Léopold Ier to Square Prince Léopold. It crosses several streets. These include Rue Breesch and Rue Jacobs-Fontaine. The street also crosses Rue Steyls, Rue Fineau, and Rue Victor Mabille. A bridge carries the street over the Brussels-Ghent railway and Rue du Gaz.
The street’s story began in 1899. Royal decrees on February 18, 1899, created the first and last sections. These sections mirror Avenue Prudent Bols. Together, they form a sharp angle. The final section fits into the star-shaped district around Square Prince Léopold. Like other streets in this area, it had setback zones for gardens. However, a decree on September 21, 1903, opened the entire street in the 1900s.
Before 1904, the street received its name. It honored Émile Alexis Delva. He served as a Laeken alderman from 1894 to 1911. Émile Delva left his mark on the community.
For ten years, a racetrack occupied the area between Rue Steyls and the railway. The Hippodrome de Laeken-Jette managed it. The track was 1,000 meters long. Its main entrance was on Rue Steyls. It sat on the border between Laeken and Jette. In 1907, the site was sold. The Compagnie Anonyme du Gaz de Saint-Josse-ten-Noode built a gas factory. It operated until 1963. Later, the curved section of Rue Émile Delva straightened. Engineer P. Gillet designed the plan in 1908. The council approved it in 1909.
After World War I, a stonecutting business opened at number 100 Rue Émile Delva. It was known as Nouveaux Chantiers de Laeken from 1930. It closed around 2016. A pre-1930 metal-framed shed and lifting equipment remain on the site. The Hippodrome real estate project is underway in the area.
Between 1905 and 1914, townhouses and apartment buildings appeared. They featured neoclassical and eclectic styles. Some had commercial ground floors. Examples include number 3 built in 1912 and numbers 24 and 26 built in 1909. Also the row of houses from numbers 28 to 44. These were built between 1907 and 1908. Art Deco and modernist buildings filled in gaps later. Number 86 is an example. Architect Pierre Netels designed it in 1937. In 1920, Foyer Laekenois commissioned social housing. It was located between Rue Victor Mabille, Rue Fransman, and Rue Fineau.
The final section of Rue Émile Delva was built after World War II. La Nutricia, a baby food company founded in 1898, was located at the corner of Rue du Gaz and Rue Alfred Stevens. It became Nutrella around 1950. It moved to Bornem in the 1960s. In 1998, the city of Brussels commissioned the Institut Paul-Henri Spaak. The Atelier d’Architecture de Genval designed it. It opened in 2002. Social housing, designed in 1951 by architect Constant Desmaré, occupies the northern part. Houses from the 1950s and 1960s and another Foyer complex make up the other side.
Finally, the Musée du Réverbère opened on the sidewalk at numbers 75 to 87 in 2004. Nathalie Mertens and Christophe Terlinden designed it. Sixteen gas and electric streetlights show the history of public lighting. So, as you walk along Rue Émile Delva, remember Émile Alexis Delva. He helped shape Laeken. The street shows the area’s history through architecture and public art.