Doesn’t the name Rue Georges Henri sound intriguing? This long artery connects Place Verheyleweghen to Rue de Linthout. The numbering begins at the square. The avenue intersects many roads. The last one is Boulevard Brand Whitlock.
A convention for a twelve-meter-wide avenue was established in 1867. It involved the Doucet and Leblanc families. They owned land nearby. However construction only began a decade later.
Initially, the owners created a private road. It connected Rue de Linthout to the Institute for Deaf-Mutes and the Blind. This institute now faces Place Jean-Baptiste Degrooff. Auguste Beckers, a lawyer, donated land for the institute in 1876. At the time, the area had few houses.
The avenue’s extension continued in the 1890s. It provided access to the Van Meyel orphanage and the new Etterbeek cemetery. In exchange for the cemetery land, Etterbeek took over the avenue’s upkeep in 1897. This covered the section from Rue de Linthout to the cemetery. The alignment plan was finalized in 1901. Geometers Loens and Slegers created it. By 1902, the avenue was open to traffic up to the Roodebeek hamlet.
The name Georges Henri appeared around 1882. It likely combines the first names of two local landowners.
Its final section is between Boulevard Brand Whitlock and Rue de Linthout. It was largely built before World War I. Buildings here feature eclectic styles like number 450. Some have commercial ground floors. Number 412 has a geometric Art Nouveau house. Architect Jean Lerat designed it in 1907. The even side features red and white brick facades. Some have gable dormers. Examples include numbers 406 and 408 by architect P. Stillemans. Also, look at 418, 440 by architect Ernest Linard in 1908. Don’t miss 456, 458 and 492 to 496.
On the odd side, the avenue ends with a row of two-story houses. Numbers 497 to 519 have commercial ground floors. A newer building now interrupts this row.
Rue Georges Henri saw a second construction wave in the 1920s and 1930s. Number 441 represents the Beaux-Arts style. A garage was added at numbers 427-429 in 1928. Some buildings filled vacant plots in the 1950s. Number 431 is by architect René Coppens in 1955. The “Metro” cinema was built at number 481 in 1956. Architect Gui. Rousseau designed it. It closed in 1975 and is now a supermarket.
Some buildings stand back from the Rue Georges Henri. These include number 443 built after 1917. Also, number 469 built before 1917 and number 467. Number 467 includes a building predating 1917. An oblong rotunda volume was added behind numbers 50 to 54 Avenue Albert-Élisabeth. Architect Julien Galair designed it in 1930. Number 447 built after 1917 stands perpendicular to the street. It has a side entrance. Rue Georges Henri is more than just a street. It’s a journey through time and architectural styles.