Avenue des Français
Encyclopedia
Avenue des Français was a wide, palm-lined, seaside street in Beirut
, Lebanon
and now part of the pedestrian promenade, The Shoreline Walk.
as part of an urban renewal project planned for the capital. It was Beirut's first seaside promenade. The levee along the waterfront was enlarged with the wreckage from the old town and a retaining wall was erected from the ruins of a Byzantine basilica. Due to its broad sidewalks, palm trees, and chic hotels, the avenue quickly became the favored esplanade for the prominent families of the city. In 1925, postcards of Avenue des Français, comparing it to Promenade des Anglais in Nice, were printed to promote French tourism in the Levant
. In 1932, the legendary Hotel St. Georges was built on Avenue des Français, facing Saint George Bay
. It was followed by the Hotel Normandy, adding to the prestige of the thoroughfare. One of the landmarks of the avenue, was Lucullus, a French restaurant that was situated between Hotel Normandy and the Hotel Bassoul. The restaurant was famous for its bouillabaisse
on Fridays. The Bassoul family owned the building in which the restaurant was located. The building was sold in 1967 and later demolished to make way for the building of the Beirut Hilton. Avenue des Français was the origin of the seaside promenade, the Corniche Beirut
, one of the most popular public spaces in Beirut.
, the company in charge of planning and redeveloping Beirut Central District
, engaged Gustafson Porter to create The Shoreline Walk, a pedestrian promenade that traced the line of the original coastline that was lost during the war. In addition to the pedestrian promenade, the Shoreline Walk included five open-space squares and gardens: Harbour Square, All Saints
Square, Zeytouneh Square, Santiyeh Garden, and Shoreline Gardens, which was on the site of the historic Avenue des Francais. Gustafson Porter's chain of public squares ran through the land that was reclaimed from the Normandy dump along the line of the original shoreline, straddling the old and new sections of the city. In designing the Shoreline Gardens, Gustafson Porter incorporated a linear water feature as a contemporary interpretation of the sea wall that once existed along the avenue. By creating a sequence of spaces that traced the historic shoreline of Beirut, the Shoreline Walk once again re-established an east-west connection in this part of the city that Avenue des Français once did. After years of neglect, Avenue des Français was revived into a contemporary promenade.
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and now part of the pedestrian promenade, The Shoreline Walk.
History
Avenue des Français was created out of the widening of the former Rue Minet El Hosn during the period of the French Mandate of Syria and LebanonFrench Mandate of Syria and Lebanon
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
as part of an urban renewal project planned for the capital. It was Beirut's first seaside promenade. The levee along the waterfront was enlarged with the wreckage from the old town and a retaining wall was erected from the ruins of a Byzantine basilica. Due to its broad sidewalks, palm trees, and chic hotels, the avenue quickly became the favored esplanade for the prominent families of the city. In 1925, postcards of Avenue des Français, comparing it to Promenade des Anglais in Nice, were printed to promote French tourism in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
. In 1932, the legendary Hotel St. Georges was built on Avenue des Français, facing Saint George Bay
Saint George Bay
The Saint George Bay is located on the northern coast of the city of Beirut in Lebanon. The Saint George Bay is believed to be the place where Saint George slew the dragon. Today the bay houses Beirut's western marina and extends to the north until the marina of Dbayeh...
. It was followed by the Hotel Normandy, adding to the prestige of the thoroughfare. One of the landmarks of the avenue, was Lucullus, a French restaurant that was situated between Hotel Normandy and the Hotel Bassoul. The restaurant was famous for its bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse is a seafood soup made with various kinds of cooked fish and shellfish and vegetables, flavored with a variety of herbs and spices such as garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron. Bouillabaisse is a traditional Provençal fish stew originating from the port city of...
on Fridays. The Bassoul family owned the building in which the restaurant was located. The building was sold in 1967 and later demolished to make way for the building of the Beirut Hilton. Avenue des Français was the origin of the seaside promenade, the Corniche Beirut
Corniche Beirut
The Corniche Beirut is a seaside promenade in Beirut, Lebanon. Lined with palm trees, the waterfront esplanade offers visitors a magnificent view of the Mediterranean and the summits of Mount Lebanon to the east...
, one of the most popular public spaces in Beirut.
The War Years
During the war, the avenue became buried by a landfill, ironically referred to as the Normandy dump after the legendary hotel that existed on the avenue prior to the war. Due to the landfill, which "[extended] the land by more than 600m to the north”, the original coastline no longer existed and with it the avenue was lost.Revival: A Contemporary Promenade
After the war, SolidereSolidere
Solidere s.a.l. is a Lebanese joint-stock company in charge of planning and redeveloping Beirut Central District following the conclusion, in 1990, of the country’s devastating civil war...
, the company in charge of planning and redeveloping Beirut Central District
Beirut Central District
The Beirut Central District or Centre Ville is the name given to Beirut’s historical and geographical core, the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” At the heart of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut Central District is an area thousands of years old, traditionally a...
, engaged Gustafson Porter to create The Shoreline Walk, a pedestrian promenade that traced the line of the original coastline that was lost during the war. In addition to the pedestrian promenade, the Shoreline Walk included five open-space squares and gardens: Harbour Square, All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
Square, Zeytouneh Square, Santiyeh Garden, and Shoreline Gardens, which was on the site of the historic Avenue des Francais. Gustafson Porter's chain of public squares ran through the land that was reclaimed from the Normandy dump along the line of the original shoreline, straddling the old and new sections of the city. In designing the Shoreline Gardens, Gustafson Porter incorporated a linear water feature as a contemporary interpretation of the sea wall that once existed along the avenue. By creating a sequence of spaces that traced the historic shoreline of Beirut, the Shoreline Walk once again re-established an east-west connection in this part of the city that Avenue des Français once did. After years of neglect, Avenue des Français was revived into a contemporary promenade.
In Literature
- Arms for Adonis by Charlotte Jay
- "His elder brother, Tawfik, was settled in Beirut and conducted a prosperous business in the Avenue des Francais."