Along with much of the rest of Europe, Belgium experienced intense economic and industrial growth  during the "long nineteenth century."
The Wilebroek Canal, which had originally been constructed in the 1550s and 1560s, took on increased importance in Belgium's global trade over the course of the 1800s, as it connects Brussels to the Sheldt River and ultimately the North Sea.
In 1895, the Tour & Taxis site was selected by the Belgian State and the City of Brussels as the location for a new commercial station along the Brussels Canal.
Construction of the Tour & Taxis industrial complex, spread over 37 ha (91 acres) of land, officially began on 22 July 1900, with King Leopold II present for the inaugural festivities.

Tour & Taxis was one of the first multi-modal freight transport platforms in the world.
Frédéric Bruneel served as the main engineer for the project, while Ernest Van Humbeeck, Constant Bosmans and Henri Vandeveld worked as architects.
Central to the site's functionality was the Gare Maritime (Dutch: Maritiem Station) freight station, constructed by Bruneel beginning in 1902 and open from 1907.
The expansive 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft) steel and glass structure was designed to efficiently receive goods by land, water and rail.
Major sources of cargo included sugar, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate.
Customs and excise duties were then collected on-site via the Hôtel des Douanes, and goods were stored in bonded warehouses—the Entrepôt Public and the Entrepôt Royal—before their redistribution.
The Gare Maritime was controlled by the Belgian State Railways (and, from 1926, the National Railway Company of Belgium), while the bonded warehouses were managed by the Société anonyme du Canal et des Installations maritimes de Bruxelles (and later, the Port of Brussels).

The buildings have been recognised for the quality of their construction.
According to La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour, the Tour & Taxis site is a "catalogue of architecture and civil engineering", as well as "a testament to the skills of Belgian engineers and workers, and their mastery of steel, iron, stone, glass and concrete."
Their appearance was influenced by both the Flemish Renaissance and the Art Nouveau style characteristic of early 20th-century Brussels.

The busy Tour & Taxis site furthered industrial and economic development in Brussels.
According to La Fonderie, "construction of the complex and the port resulted in the development of the surrounding area, where life soon revolved around the packaging, storage, sale and transportation of different cargoes... Outstanding industrial buildings sprang up, followed by residential buildings and workers' housing estates.
The Tour & Taxis complex was a hive of social and economic activity.
In its heyday at the end of the 1960s, it employed a workforce of almost 3,000."

As Europe's economic landscape shifted over the latter half of the 20th century, so too did Tour & Taxis' importance as a centre of commerce and industry.
The Treaty of Rome in 1957, of which Belgium was a signing member, created the European Economic Community (EEC) and initiated Europe's move away from economic borders and towards a single market via reduced customs duties and the establishment of a customs union.
At the same time, Belgium's expansion of its roads and highways in the 1960s and 1970s (see Transport in Belgium) facilitated the increased transport of goods by road versus waterways or railways.
The free movement of capital and goods within the EEC (and, from 1993, the European Union), combined with the changing means by which those goods were distributed within member states, gradually made the original function of the buildings at Tour & Taxis irrelevant.
The Entrepôt Public and the Entrepôt Royal were rented out to private companies for storage space, but building maintenance became too expensive for the railway and port companies to maintain.
By the 1990s, the Port of Brussels and the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) each put their shares of the Tour & Taxis property up for sale.
Along with much of the rest of Europe, Belgium experienced intense economic and industrial growth  during the "long nineteenth century." The Wilebroek Canal, which had originally been constructed in the 1550s and 1560s, took on increased importance in Belgium's global trade over the course of the 1800s, as it connects Brussels to the Sheldt River and ultimately the North Sea. In 1895, the Tour & Taxis site was selected by the Belgian State and the City of Brussels as the location for a new commercial station along the Brussels Canal. Construction of the Tour & Taxis industrial complex, spread over 37 ha (91 acres) of land, officially began on 22 July 1900, with King Leopold II present for the inaugural festivities.
Tour & Taxis was one of the first multi-modal freight transport platforms in the world. Frédéric Bruneel served as the main engineer for the project, while Ernest Van Humbeeck, Constant Bosmans and Henri Vandeveld worked as architects. Central to the site's functionality was the Gare Maritime (Dutch: Maritiem Station) freight station, constructed by Bruneel beginning in 1902 and open from 1907. The expansive 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft) steel and glass structure was designed to efficiently receive goods by land, water and rail. Major sources of cargo included sugar, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate. Customs and excise duties were then collected on-site via the Hôtel des Douanes, and goods were stored in bonded warehouses—the Entrepôt Public and the Entrepôt Royal—before their redistribution. The Gare Maritime was controlled by the Belgian State Railways (and, from 1926, the National Railway Company of Belgium), while the bonded warehouses were managed by the Société anonyme du Canal et des Installations maritimes de Bruxelles (and later, the Port of Brussels).
The buildings have been recognised for the quality of their construction. According to La Fonderie, Brussels Museum of Industry and Labour, the Tour & Taxis site is a "catalogue of architecture and civil engineering", as well as "a testament to the skills of Belgian engineers and workers, and their mastery of steel, iron, stone, glass and concrete." Their appearance was influenced by both the Flemish Renaissance and the Art Nouveau style characteristic of early 20th-century Brussels.
The busy Tour & Taxis site furthered industrial and economic development in Brussels. According to La Fonderie, "construction of the complex and the port resulted in the development of the surrounding area, where life soon revolved around the packaging, storage, sale and transportation of different cargoes... Outstanding industrial buildings sprang up, followed by residential buildings and workers' housing estates. The Tour & Taxis complex was a hive of social and economic activity. In its heyday at the end of the 1960s, it employed a workforce of almost 3,000."
As Europe's economic landscape shifted over the latter half of the 20th century, so too did Tour & Taxis' importance as a centre of commerce and industry. The Treaty of Rome in 1957, of which Belgium was a signing member, created the European Economic Community (EEC) and initiated Europe's move away from economic borders and towards a single market via reduced customs duties and the establishment of a customs union. At the same time, Belgium's expansion of its roads and highways in the 1960s and 1970s (see Transport in Belgium) facilitated the increased transport of goods by road versus waterways or railways. The free movement of capital and goods within the EEC (and, from 1993, the European Union), combined with the changing means by which those goods were distributed within member states, gradually made the original function of the buildings at Tour & Taxis irrelevant. The Entrepôt Public and the Entrepôt Royal were rented out to private companies for storage space, but building maintenance became too expensive for the railway and port companies to maintain. By the 1990s, the Port of Brussels and the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB) each put their shares of the Tour & Taxis property up for sale.
Tour & Taxis