Halles America

This building was designed by Jacques Obozinski and Fernand Petit in 1921 - 1926, for America et Cie. The building was protected as a monument in 1993.
The Halles America refer to the port function of this neighbourhood, next to the canal. In former times, the Customs Offices and Trade Dock were installed here.
In 1910 - 1911, the Brussels-Seaport was constructed outside the city. The dock disappeared and the city approved a new project of urbanisation. From the 1920s, a lot of wholesalers of fruit and vegetables settled in this neighbourhood. The America et Cie company was one of them. They built a fruit auction where the local retailers could provision. This fits in the economic revival from after the First World War, which can also be seen in a lot of other realisations in this quarter.

The mixed function of the building (house/trade/warehouse) is characteristic for this district. The importance of the living function of the buildings in a commercial area shows the wish to use at best the available surface in the city.

Basilica Koekelberg