Avenue Mohammed V

File / Documentation

Name

176304_sv.jpg

Size

5.66 MB

Format

JPEG

Checksum (MD5)

ad9eceffc44e2c4c50e0e9d80036d7b2

Creator(s)

architect: Albert Laprade (French, 1883-1978), architect: Adrien Laforgue (Uruguayan, 1871-1952), architect: Henri Prost (French, 1874-1959), landscape architect: Jean Claude Nicolas Forestier (French, 1861-1930)

Time period

creation date: Protectorate Period construction, ca. 1914-1932, other date: launch of tramway, May 23, 2011

Location

Site: Rabat (Rabat-Salé, Wilaya de, Morocco)

Cultural context

Moroccan

Berber

Description

This is the main artery of Rabat, running from intersecting Avenue Laalou in the north, where one of the city gates was demolished, and ending at the Jamaa Al-Souna in the South. It encompasses what used to be known as rue el Gza, Bab Jdid and Bab Teben, avenue Dar el Makhzen, cours Lyautey and avenue des Touarga. A primarily residential area, it became the administrative center of Morocco under the French protectorate. It runs through the old Medina and the Ville Nouvelle and was conceived by city planners working under Marshal Lyautey as a means to join the traditional and modern parts of the city. The first commercial construction began in 1915, and it became an administrative center when construction started buildings for the operations of the French authorities. The Parliament, Central Bank, main strain station, Central Post Office, are all found along this street, in between gardens, cafes, palm trees and shopping. In the Protectorate era a tram ran the length of the Avenue. A new system was restored to the Avenue in 2011.

exterior, central, tallest part of a mixed-use building on corner of Zankat Abou Inan showing geometric patterns in stucco facade, 1993

Work type

Avenue

Keywords

Morocco --History --1912-1956

Architecture --Morocco

Avenues

Architecture, French colonial