"Espace en flux" (Space in Flux)
From mid-March until the venue is repurposed, the "Espace en flux project – a project that blends history and design – will be on display in the Gare district's most emblematic building, located on the corner of Rue de Strasbourg and Avenue de la Liberté. The windows of this currently vacant building are decorated with illustrations by designer Ruth Lorang, retracing the rich history of this building, which has successively housed the "Apollo-Theater", the "Casino de la Gare", the "Hôtel Chicago" and the "Hôtel City". Interested passers-by and history buffs can learn more about the building through texts by historian Robert L. Philippart.
Over the years, the property located at the intersection of Avenue de la Liberté and Rue de Strasbourg has had a succession of occupants, such as the "Apollo-Theater", "Casino de la Gare" and "Hôtel Chicago". The site is currently occupied by the "Hôtel City".
Apollo-Theater
In 1894, circus owner Fritz Renquin opened his "Apollo-Theater" at the intersection of Rue de Strasbourg and Place de la Gare. Avenue de la Liberté did not yet exist.
This café-theatre put on a wide-ranging programme of variety shows that included burlesque, acrobatics, concerts, singing, dancing, skating, theatre, micro-opera, cinema, magic and athletic combat. John Grün, the strongest man in the world, was the star of the 1901 season. The Apollo-Theater even attracted French, German and Belgian troupes, which passed through on a monthly basis.
There were both matinées and evening shows, which were advertised in the "Bürger und Beamtenzeitung" and aimed primarily at the local population. Shows were performed for several consecutive days – a testament to the theatre's success. Tickets were sold in cigar shops in Ville Haute and on Avenue de la Gare.
The theatre had box seating and space for up to 440 spectators. The restaurant could serve 50 tables at a time. Both the food and the shows were touted as being top quality, yet they were always offered "at the best prices". Many sports clubs and cultural and leisure associations held meetings there. Notaries held property auctions at the theatre, and associations put on public dances, evening concerts, choral performances, dance performances, athletic competitions and plays. Along with the Luxembourg City municipal theatre and the function hall at City Hall in the Old Town, the Apollo-Theater / Casino de la Gare was the only café-theatre in the capital – other than Fritz Renquin's circus at the Glacis – which was made of stone and could accommodate up to 2,000 people.
Casino de la Gare
Adolphe Amberg Junior purchased the Apollo-Theater in 1899. He expanded the property onto a plot of land purchased from the Société des tramways luxembourgeois. "Papa Amberg" was a well-known entrepreneur in Luxembourg who had been operating cafés, restaurants and cabarets since 1872, in the municipal park, Place d'Armes, the Glacis and later on Avenue de la Liberté. He delegated the management of the Casino de la Gare to two café operators.
Avenue de la Liberté was extended from Place de la Gare towards Place de Paris through expropriations. The "Casino de la Gare" encroached on the pavement, but fortunately did not need to be altered. Nevertheless, a strip of land was severed from the property, reducing its size. In 1903, a fire devastated half of the business. Amberg was forced to sell all of the furniture. In 1904, he decided to sell his property for 62,000 francs, earning a 48% profit on the price he had paid five years earlier. With the opening of Avenue de la Liberté, the value of the land had appreciated considerably.
Hôtel Chicago
Madame Pauly, the owner of the Hôtel Chicago, which stood opposite, purchased the "Casino de la Gare" and rented a 1,500 m2 space to the Bazar Champagne department store – located on Avenue de la Liberté – where it could display furniture and model rooms.
From 1907, the site was occupied by the Hôtel Chicago. This establishment revived the tradition of Renquin's and Amberg's shows. In 1919, to continue drawing audiences, Madame Pauly renovated the main auditorium, giving it a more modern look. In 1922, the property was purchased by one J. P. Merten-Kaul from Niederwiltz. It changed hands again in 1926, when it was bought by Josef Possami-Bergamimi, a hotel owner who did business in the municipality of Hollerich. Possami-Bergamimi then sold the property in 1932 to Lambert Heurneupont, who operated the City Garage on Rue Joseph Junck. In 1933, the architects Jacques Haal – from Grevenmacher – and Jean Mackel drafted a construction project. The Hôtel Chicago went out of business that same year. The closure was headline news in the local press. Due to opposition from the Local Interest Group (Syndicat des Intérêts Locaux), the project could not be completed as quickly as planned, and the "Flesche Jacques" bottle merchants continued to occupy the premises until March 1946. The "Al Letzebuerg" café held out until April 1949 despite the owner's opposition. The Escher Tageblatt announced the closure of the "the old ramshackle building built over the alignment, which has been an eyesore in the Gare cityscape for years" (…) The owner and the manager have reached an agreement. The demolition of the old walls will begin soon, or has already begun, respectively. By next year, the construction of a new 6-level building will have been completed." The Hôtel City opened soon thereafter.