Salle de bal Gillade (ancienne Folies Bergère) — Alost

In 1923 the proprietor of the Gillade hall decided, together with her son-in-law and two daughters, to build an entirely new dance hall, renamed Folies Bergère. The plans were drawn by the Ghent architect Jules Lippens and approved in March 1924; the façade was executed in a more stylised manner than planned. The symmetrical rendered façade, with flower bands and geometric motifs around four strongly projecting oriels and a large segmental-arched window, is typical of Lippens's first period. Having run into financial difficulties, the hall was sold in 1927 to the textile factory "Viscose" and bought in 1946 by the city of Aalst, a purchase annulled in 1949 by the Council of State; the Ministry of Education then acquired the building. It has been protected as a monument since 1997.

Translated from the French original.