Place Gaucheret

Until the 1960s there was a laundromat on this corner with the politically incorrect name ‘Au Beau Noir’. In the late 1970s, a group of young people squatted in the vacant building. They set it up as a youth centre, ‘De Fabriek’, and later received recognition and operational funding. In 2008 the centre was transformed into Maison ABC (Art Basics for Children), which organises creative workshops, holiday programmes and training courses for young and old.

If you continue straight ahead you will see a trail of metal plates running across the square. This work of art, together with the square itself, was opened in 2008 at the location where the connecting track between Gare de Bruxelles-Allée Verte and the first Gare du Nord once ran. The revival of the Quartier Nord was celebrated on this festive occasion.

The low brick building ‘Soleil du Nord’ houses various social services, premises for community outreach workers and a nursery. The concrete awning on the left adds extra colour to the complex.

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