Former fire station

Fire station in Art Nouveau style built by the City of Antwerp, after a design by architect in the city service Emiel Van Averbeke from 1911. As city architect, Alexis Van Mechelen supervised the project and also signed the specifications. The building site forms the western point of a large parcel of urban land on the corner of Viséstraat and Halenstraat, which also included the buildings of the Public Cleaning Service. The works, estimated at twelve months, were awarded by tender in December 1911 to the contractors Georges Hargot and Richard Somers for a sum of 148,110 Belgian francs. Completed at the end of 1913, the fire station fulfilled its function until 1947, then served as a relaxation room for the elderly and residences. The housing company Onze Woning renovated the building into social housing in 1990-1995, together with the construction of the adjoining residential complex “Dambuster”, to a design by the architect Roger Groothaert.

Karen Wuyts