MAS [Museum aan de stroom]
Books

<em>Verhalenbazaar, Foto's en Verhalen uit de Stationsbuurt</em>

Verhalenbazaar, Foto's en Verhalen uit de Stationsbuurt, 2006

The Antwerp station area has dynamically developed in recent years, with the major work on the Central Station and the redevelopment of the Astrid Square as major landmarks. When these works gradually approached their completion, the City of Antwerp and the ‘Museum aan de Stroom’ - driven by Katherine Ennekens - thought it was a good time to look back at the past of this neighborhood and reminisce with the residents.

After a call in several newspapers, a large number of Antwerp citizens appeared with old photos and stories. Especially older inhabitants of Antwerp had a wealth of colorful stories to tell about the ‘station area’ that had changed radically over the years. Each story was recorded, without following a specific theme and without taking into consideration whether the facts that were told were true. It was all about memories after all, and memories are sometimes less exact.

All that material, supplemented with pictures and stories of Antwerp specialist Frans LAUWERS, was exhibited in the ‘Verhalenbazaar’ on the Astrid Square. The exhibition opened early May 2006 and was housed in an authentic candy store, decorated in 1962, and made available by the owner, Mrs. DASSONNEVILLE. This to the delight of many visitors who considered the shop as a monument of the station area. Thanks to its central location thousands of visitors found their way to the Astrid Square 36.

In contrast with the many warm stories, also many disappointments were recorded. Especially the relentless demolition of the sixties and seventies has clearly not been digested by younger and elderly Antwerp citizens. Some visitors even got tears in their eyes when they saw what has been pulled down in this period. A clearer signal for our policy makers to carefully deal with our heritage is hard to imagine.

Marie in de snoepwinkel, Astridplein 36

Specifications

PUBLISHER Pandora
YEAR 2006
DIMENSIONS 270 x 205 x 11 mm
SIZE 112 pagina's
NUMBER 3000 ex.
PRINT Recto/verso CMYK
FINISHING Sewn bound
PAPER Cover: Perigord 250 g, inside Perigord 150 g
FONTS Fresco, FrescoSans