Leopoldville 1930s – Leisure in a time of Depression

One of the challenges in writing an illustrated history of Kinshasa’s architectural heritage of the 1930s is that not much was built during the Depression.  In addition, from the standpoint of this blog, many of the few relevant images have already been shared in previous postings. Consequently, this piece will attempt to tie earlier vignettes with new information and perspectives.

Roadster in Leopoldville in 1937

Much of the development that did take place was promoted by the public sector, either the municipal Comité Urbain or the colonial government.  This was a time of art deco designs that included Parc De Bock (1930-34) and the Zoo (1938) (See Feb. 6, 2011), as well as the Mediterranean-inspired public (covered market), which opened in 1930 (See Aug. 5, 2011). These facilities were part of the Neutral Zone, designed to separate the growing European town from the African settlements (cités).  

Parc DeBock -- 1937

Leo Marche Coupole -- 1930s

Institut Tropicale Princess Astrid

Other public art deco-inspired infrastructure included the Clinique Reine Elisabeth (See Jan. 17, 2012), the Institut de médecine Tropicale Princesse Astrid (See Aug. 5, 2011), the main railway station and the monument to the late King Albert 1er.  The Force Publique erected its main supply depot on Ave. Prince de Liege (Ave. du Camp Militaire, previously aka Haut Commandement and then Nelson Mandela), leading from Kalina to Camp Leopold II.

The Gare Centrale shortly after completion

The Force Publique Depot looking north up Ave. Prince de Liege towards Kalina

A welcome development for the European community in 1931 was the opening of the Funa Club sports complex on the south side of the new Ndolo airport (See May 23, 2011) in what would become the second Neutral Zone, further segregating the European city from the African townships.  Located on the Funa River, the Funa Club was a private undertaking along the lines of the Cercle de Léopoldville (See Mar. 19, 2011), and was eventually purchased by the Comité Urbain as a public facility in 1944.  The art deco complex included an Olympic size swimming pool, tennis and volley ball courts, petanque, a bowling alley and a restaurant.  The Funa remained popular after Independence but has since disappeared under encroachment from the adjacent cité.  Google Earth shows what appears to be an industrial building on the site.

The Funa Club Pool

Satellite view of the former Funa Club (lower left)

The Leopoldville airstrip was relocated from Kalina to Ndolo to make way for the new administrative district

In 1931, as well, Father (Tata) Raphael de la Kethulle (See Feb. 6, 2011) began to develop a sports ground for Africans at St. Pierre parish in the cite, using school children’s labor to clear the swampy ground.  Over the next several years, the site was further developed (along with St. Pierre church and school), culminating in Stade Reine Astrid in 1937 and the adjacent Parc Sports General Ermens in 1942.

A football team in Leopoldville -- 1930s

 Another popular sport was cycling.  The first city-wide bicycle took place in December 1935 with Governor Ryckmans issuing the prize. The following March, a major biking event was organized at the new Velodrome in Kintambo. Promoted by the Vélo-Club de Léopoldville; other teams were supported by Kaiser, Orban, Nogueira, and Ollivant – the first two were bicycle dealerships, the last two major import houses selling bikes.  Curiously, the Vélo-Club was sponsored by the Singer sewing machine agency.  Joining in the marketing opportunity, the Chanic shipyards and Righini garage (See June 28, 2011) provided transport so Congolese could attend the race, while the Cohadon tire company (See Mar. 5, 2011) ensured that the racecourse was lit with electric lights. 

The bicycle team of the Association des Anciens Elèves des Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes (ASSANEF)

Kinshasa Velodrome in 2008 -- St. Francois Church on left

Cosmo-Kin edition Nov-Dec. 1933

 With an increasing European and African population, the range of media available began to expand.  Two competitive newspapers; l’Avenir Colonial Belge and the Courrier d’Afrique were on the scene in the 1930s.  l’Avenir had been published since 1920, while the Courrier d’Afrique appeared in January 1930 to provide a clerical counterpoint to the “liberal” tendencies of l’Avenir.  An insouciant upstart in this clash of the culture wars was Cosmo-Kin, a multi-lingual weekly that appeared in 1931 and chronicled the city’s jazz-filled nightlife and cultural offerings.  In July 1933, the catholic missionary establishment published the first edition of the Croix du Congo, a publication designed for the evolué (educated Congolese) community.  The paper was published by Sodimca, which produced and printed the Courrier d’Afrique.

The first edtion of La Croix du Congo

A public library opened for the European community in 1932, although a privately organized library had organized as early as 1925.  Once College Albert 1er opened in 1937 (See Jan. 17, 2012), its collection quickly surpassed the public library.  The Jesuits at College Albert also started the first radio station, which broadcast a limited program for the European community.  In 1939, Jean Hourdebise’s Radio Congolia began broadcasts targeted at the Congolese population in the cités. Radio access for Congolese was later enhanced by installing loudspeakers at public places in the cité to serve a wider audience, and effectively developing a wider market for radios, which were within the budgets of middle class Congolese.

Leopoldville Library -- note busts of Leopold III and Astrid

Leopoldville Library -- 1930s

Loudspeakers installed in the cite to broadcast radio programs

Movies were another popular pastime.  As early as 1910, the first films were shown in Leopoldville.  In 1916, Henri Legaert opened the first cinema, screening films from France and UK depicting WWI battlefield scenes.  A certain Fabré operated a cinema and ice-plant in the 1920s. This may have been Cinéma Apollo Palace (See Mar. 24, 2011).   In 1932, Robert Notterdam, a former employee of the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga opened the first cinema showing “talkies” in the capital, but returned to Katanga the following year to open the Ciné Palace in Elisabethville (Lubumbashi). The Ciné Central was another popular movie house of the 1930s, located on Ave. Rubbens near the port, in the Rhodius Frères’ store (See Feb. 6, 2011).  After WWII, Hourdebise of Radio Congolia opened the first cinema for Africans, obtaining a half-acre plot from the government for this purpose.  Hourdebise later opened the Albertum Cinema on Blvd. Albert and the Roxy in Kintambo, where Nando’s is now located (See July 10, 2011).

Cinema Central

Ave Rubbens looking south towards Place de la Poste -- Rhodius Freres building on right

No exposé on leisure in Kinshasa would be complete without some commentary on the bar scene. Earlier posts featured the range of hotels and restaurants operating in the city over the years (See June 28, 2011), which included most of the bars catering to the European community.  The Brasserie de Léopoldville (now Bralima, brewer of Primus) was created in October 1923 with capital from the Banque de Bruxelles.  Segregation precluded Europeans and Congolese sharing a beer; but there was another justification for the new brewery, to provide an alternative to locally distilled alcohol or “lotoko”. 

Brasserie de Leopoldville -- 1930s

Guitarist in Kinshasa -- 1930s

Part of the justification for the paternalist, colonial rule was that it made a postive improvement in the African’s social development.  Consequently, any European role in encouraging Congolese to engage in vices was discouraged.  On July 23, 1932, a Decree authorized Africans to sell alcohol, but only to other Africans, which paved the way for the establishment of legal bars in the cité. Still, it seems that traditional forms of alcohol continued to appeal to Kinois.  In 1935, Jules Van Lancker, a influential rancher and plantation owner (See Feb. 3, 2012), urged that a solution be found to the felling of palm trees to extract palm wine, which was destroying the palm groves around Leopoldville.   Other factors were beginning to appear which would have a profound effect on Kinshasa’s night-life.  On New Years Eve 1936, Antoine Roger Bolamba, an evolué with significant literary talent, hosted a party of the Cercle de l’amitié where the newly popular Rumba music from Cuba was played on a phonograph.  Congolese music -- “Congo jazz” -- was on its way, but that is another story.

Sources:

·      Abel, Richard. 2005, Encyclopedia of Early Cinema, Taylor and Francis.

·      Feuchaux, Laurent. 2000, Vie coloniale et faits divers à Léopoldville (1920-1940), in Itinéraires croisés de la modernité - Congo belge (1920-1950), Cahiers Africains.

·      Gondola, Charles Didier. 1996. Villes miroirs: Migrations et identités urbaines a Kinshasa et Brazzaville, 1930-1970, Collection Villes et entreprises.

·      Hunt, Nancy Rose. 2002. “Tintin and the interruptions of Congolese Comics” in, Landau, Paul S, Ed. Images and empires: visuality in colonial and postcolonial Africa, University of California Press.

·      Miracle, Marvin. 1969. Agricultural economics in Africa: trends in theory and method.

Leopoldville 1929 – US Consulate Opens on Place Leopold

When I was preparing the piece on the US Consulate (See Jan. 29, 2011), I sought unsuccessfully to establish where it was located when the office first opened in 1929.  The Consulate closed the following year and did not reopen until 1934.  Recently I came across a better quality image from the 1930s of the Crédit Foncier Africain (CFA) building on Place Leopold that clearly displays the State Department seal on the side of the building along Ave. Cerckel.  Since posting the earlier piece, I found a reference to the Consulate having been located during WWII on Ave. Olsen (ex-Flambeau, now Kabasele Tshamala) near Ndolo airport under terms of the Lend-Lease agreement with the Colony.

The Credit Foncier Africain building along Ave. Cerckel -- US State Department Seal at corner on R.

The Crédit Foncier Africain was a real estate subsidiary created in July 1921 by the Banque de Bruxelles, a late arrival on the Congo corporate scene.  Early on it financed the public market in Leopoldville (See Aug. 5, 2011) as well as the Hotel Metropole in Matadi and the Hotel Mangrove at Moanda. A later photo of the CFA building shows additional tenants, but without the US Consulate seal. These included Lopes, LeCocq, and Diamantino. Alexandre LeCocq was a French jeweler who established himself in Leopoldville in 1927, opening “Au Coq d’Or” on Place Leopold.  Diamantino established his photo studio in Leopoldville in 1933 and produced many of the postcards of the era.  Lopes may have been a tailor.  I have not found any reference to La Parisienne located on the side of the building on Ave. Cerckel.

The CFA building in the mid-1930s -- Ave Cerckel to the left

In 2003, a construction fence was erected around the old CFA building.  The building was seriously deteriorated, but no rehabilitation or other reconstruction followed.  When I visited Kinshasa in June 2011, I entered the enclosure and asked the sentinel on duty if I could photograph the façade.  He declined, saying he would have to obtain approval from Mr. Achour first.  The Achour family has a vast array of investments in DRC including Sokin, a food import firm that also represents Chinese Great Wall vehicles (showroom on Ave Mondjiba at the Basoko Bridge); the Pain d’Or bakery; and Trans-Benz, a transport company.  The Achour Group also bought out the Sedec real estate arm in 2002.  I decided I might not reach Mr. Achour in the timeframe available to me and continued on.  A still undeveloped piece of such prime real estate in downtown Kin after eight years may indicate that a clear title to the property is still in question.

The CFA building in 2004 enclosed in a construction fence

Rear view of the CFA building in 2011 -- the roof has collapsed. Forescom Building in background.

Next to the CFA building on Ave. Cerckel was the headquarters of the Mampeza commercial firm and next to it, Synkin. Mampeza was a Portuguese company engaged in import and export trade which has since been taken over by Orgaman, the holding company which now represents the Damseaux interests (See Mar. 27, 2011).  Synkin was a construction supply firm.  Opposite Mampeza were NAHV and Socophar (See July 3, 2011).  The Socophar building (Société Colonial de Pharmacie et de Droguerie) was later taken over by the Jules Van Lancker cattle ranch for its butcher shop and still in operation in 2006. NAHV was profiled in the July 3^rd posting.

The Mampeza headquarters on Ave. Cerckel.  The Synkin store on L.

The NAHV property in 1935, opposite Mampeza

The Socophar pharmacy prior to its acquisition by JVL

Across the circle from the CFA building was a bust of Leopold II, which anchored Ave. Van Gele, the main road to Leopoldville.  To the right was Ave. Douane (where the Forescom Building would rise in 1946, See May 28, 2011), which led to the port and included the Customs bureau and several buildings housing various services of Otraco, the transportation parastatal that succeeded Unatra in 1935 (See Oct. 31, 2011).

Ave. VanGele (Ave. Lukusa) heading west from Place Leopold to old Leopoldville -- 1932

Ave. Douane from Port looking toward Place Leopold -- 1935.  CFA building in background.

Place Leopold has experienced change over the years.  During the Mobutu era and the wholesale name changes of the Recours à l’authenticité, it was known as Place Nioki, the town in Bandundu Province where Forescom has its main logging and sawmill operation.  Across Ave. Douane from the Forescom, one of the colonial era buildings was Shanghaied into Le Paradis de Shanghai Chinese restaurant with an application of green paint and spirit catchers on the gable-ends.  Across the circle, a two-story shopping arcade was completed in the 2000s. Chez Patrick restaurant was demolished (See Mar. 29, 2011) and a high-rise building is being erected at the intersection with Ave. du Port.  Plus ça change n’est pas toujours la mème chose.

Le Paradis de Shanghai between Forescom (R) and Boutique Diana (L)

Shopping Arcade on Ave. Lukusa

Leopoldville 1930 – Governor General Tilkens moves to Kalina

On July 1, 1923, the beginning of the Belgian fiscal year, Leopoldville was decreed the capital of the colony.  The town was to replace the current capital at Boma as soon as the requisite administrative and residential facilities could be constructed for the Governor General and his colonial civil servants. The chosen site was midway between Leopoldville and Kinshasa at Kalina Point.  Kalina was an officer in Henry Stanley’s employ who drowned when his launch capsized on a trip from Leopoldville to Kinshasa a few days before Christmas 1882.

A street in Kalina

An official residence for the Governor General was a first priority (See Sep. 12, 2011) and it was determined that the structure would occupy the triangle formed by the Point which juts into the River some 15 meters above the water, creating a strong current. In December 1925, Jean Colette, a colonial postal worker and amateur archeologist, began meticulous excavation of prehistoric sites identified on Kalina Point and in April 1927, organized an official excavation of the site employing the labor of six prisoners assigned to work with him by the provincial Vice-Governor.  His findings were published in 1933 and established his reputation as an archeologist.  He went on to head the Physical Anthropology department at the colonial museum at Tervuren in Belgium until his untimely death in 1936.

Colette at work on Kalina Point

Blueprint for housing in Kalina

Extensive plans for the development of Kalina were underway when Governor Tilkens moved the capital to Leopoldville in 1930. An architectural competition for the Governor General’s residence was held in 1928 and a monument to Leopold II was dedicated by King Albert in the square facing the future residence during his visit that year. 

Civil servant housing in Kalina

Sacre Coeur -- the Lycee

Queen Elisabeth also laid the cornerstone for a new day school run by the Sisters of Sacred Heart (Soeurs du Sacré Coeur).  An initial, non-denominational school for white children had opened in 1924 with 15 students.  Five Sacré Coeur sisters arrived in Leopoldville two years later to begin education work among the European community.  In June 1928, the Sisters were allocated a 5 hectare plot in Kalina where the Queen launched construction of the new school the following month.  A primary school for boys was opened by the Sisters in 1930.  

The Sisters' Residence at Sacre Coeur  

The Comité Urbain approved plans for Sacré Coeur church in 1932, prompting a complaint from former Secretary of the Congo Protestant Council Arthur Stonelake about government subsidies provided to religious institutions. 

Sacre Coeur Church and Sisters' Residence

 The slights and frustrations felt by the Protestant community were reinforced in October 1932 when plans were announced to build a “palace” for the first Papal envoy, Msgr. Dellepiane, adjacent to the Sacré Coeur complex.  The proposal came as Msgr. Dellepiane convened the first meeting of Ordinaries (Bishops) from the entire colony.

The Vatican Ambassador's Residence

Plans for the Clinique Reine Elisabeth complex

During King Albert and Queen Elizabeth’s visit in June 1928, as well, the Queen expressed concerns about the quality of health care facilities available to Europeans in the city (See Aug. 5, 2011). Colonial officials immediately began planning a new hospital to be located in the Kalina administrative district. Public Works architect Richard Lequy produced his art deco designs for the complex in March 1929.  By 1932 the first section of the new hospital, named Clinique Reine Elisabeth, was completed. The hospital opened officially in November 1933 under Dr. Bernard.  Srs.  However, the Provincial Bishop, Msgr. Georges Six expressed reservations about Dr. Bernard and he was replaced by Dr. Pauly in 1934. Dr. Pauly would continue to administer the hospital until the eve of Independence. A maternity ward was opened in 1935 and an Administrative bloc and the morgue were completed in 1936.

Clinique Reine Elisabeth shortly after completion

A contemporary view of the new hospital

In January 1933, Prince Leopold III and Princess Astrid visited the colony, passing through Leopoldville, where Gov. Tilkens organized a sumptuous reception in the Royal couple’s honor.  The popular Princess visited Sacré Coeur School as well as the African maternity ward and Catholic Schools for Congolese.

Shortly after the Prince’s visit, Governor General Tilkens introduced a range of administrative reforms, increasing the number of Provinces from 4 to 6, but effectively reducing the autonomy of provincial governors in favor of a stronger central authority in Leopoldville.  In October, Kasai Province was detached from Congo-Kasai Province, leaving Leopoldville to administer the capital city and contemporary Bas-Congo and Bandundu Provinces as Leopoldville Province.  Intended as a cost-saving measure during the Depression, the reforms were very unpopular within the Territorial Service.

King Albert was killed in a mountain-climbing accident in February 1934 and succeeded by his son Leopold.  In July, Governor Tilkens left the colony with little ceremony.  In September, the Council of Ministers proposed Pierre Ryckmans to the King as the new Governor General.  Ryckmans’ early career had been in the Mandated Territories of Ruanda-Urundi, but had recently served the Minister of Colonies as a trouble-shooter, investigating labor problems in Congo-Kasai.

In September 1935, two Jesuit priests, Joseph Mols and Jean Coméliau, arrived in Leopoldville and established themselves in a house on Ave. Lippens, the main street leading into Kalina from Kinshasa district.  Jesuit missionaries were established at Kisantu in Bas-Congo region and at Kimwenza, outside Leopoldville.  These priests, however, were delegated to develop a parochial school for European boys to complement Sacré Coeur.  Father Coméliau began teaching the boys at Sacré Coeur, while Father Mols focused on getting the new school off the ground.  In March 1937, the Society of Jesus approved the proposed College St. Albert.  The following May, the order obtained a 6-hectare parcel between Sacré Coeur and Ave. Valcke (Justice), the main road to Leopoldville.  To ensure the safety of the schoolchildren having to cross streets to access the school buildings, a change in the urbanization plan was required such that Ave. du Comité Urbain was terminated at Ave. Josephine Charlotte.

Kalina District as developed in the late 1950s

The new school opened October 4, 1937 in borrowed space provided by the Soeurs and at the priests’ residence on Ave. Lippens with 32 students in the first three primary grades, including Jean Pierre Ryckmans, the Governor’s son.  During the year College was renamed Albert 1er in honor of the late King.  The buildings of the new campus were designed by Public Works engineer, E. Popijn, who also designed buildings at the African hospital and the Medical Assistants (AMI) school (See Aug. 5, 2011).  In addition to the land grant and architectural services, the colonial government also contributed to the construction costs and provided subsidies for the salaries of the clerical faculty.

Architect's rendering of College Albert 1er

College Albert 1er as completed late 1950s

By 1939, there were 135 students from a population of 2,800 Europeans.  Insecurity in Europe prompted parents to bring their children back to the colony, so that when the new school year started in September, there were 200 enrolled. In October 1940, with war in Europe, the College was formally inaugurated.

College Albert 1er and Sacre Coeur (the street in background is Ave VanGele, now Justice)

The Jesuits had other plans for the city.  In 1936, they requested authorization to start a radio station.  There was no immediate response as colonial legislation only allowed for wireless telegraphy, which was the purview of the colonial government.  However, Radio Leo was launched in 1937 and in 1939 its capacity was increased to 250 watts.  In the same year, Radio Congolia was established by Jean Hourdebise to broadcast in the 4 African languages the Congolese population, since Radio Leo targeted the European population of the city.  During World War II, Radio Leo became Radio Congo Belge, the voice of occupied Belgium.  The US Office of War Information relayed the Voice of America to Central, North African and Europe via the transmitter at College Albert.

College Boboto in 2005

Entrance to the stadium on Ave. Justice, "Albert 1er" defaced in the 1970s when the College became Boboto

Sources:

·      www.college-boboto.org

·      deMaret, Pierre, 1990. “Phases and Facies in the Archeology of Central Africa”, in: Peter Robertshaw, A History of African Archeology, pp.109-34.

·      Kinshasa: Architecture et paysage urbains, 2010. Images du Patrimoine.

·      Kolonga Molei, 1974, Kinshasa, ce Village de Hier,

·      www.rotary.belux.org

·      Stonelake, Arthur, 1937, Congo: Past and Present, World Dominion Press.

Leopoldville 1950s -- Hotel des Allies



Hotels des Allies on Ave. Cambier

Another small hotel in Leopoldville in the 1950s (See Mar. 30, 2011) was the Hotel des Alliés, located a block south of the Memling (See Mar. 29, 2011) at the corner of Aves. Moulaert and Cambier (Tchad & Ebeya).  The property of a M. Duchesne, the earliest reference I have found was in a tourist guidebook from 1948.  What was far more interesting for a young boy in primary school was that Duchesne’s building also housed a toy store, Maison du Jouet, on the side facing Ave. Cambier.  An advert in 1958 announced “Jeux-Jouets-Articles Pour Bébés” (curiously translated into English as “Children’s games and fruit and slot machines”).  The shop was a treasure-trove of model cars and airplanes.  Other shops included, Kermesse des Jouets on Ave Hanssens, down a side street from the Memling towards the Boulevard (where Buromeca - Canon's photocopy shop is today) and Maison du Tennis on Ave. du Port.

Hotel des Allies from Ave. Cambier - Intersection with Ave. Moulaert  (Hotel Memling 1 block to the right)

Hotels des Allies & Maison du Jouet (R)

The building now is subdivided into several shops, including an LG electronics and appliance dealer.

The former Hotel des Allies et Maison du Jouet -- note the arcades at street level have been closed in.

Leopoldville 1919 - Founding of Plantations et Elevages de Kitobola (PEK)

The Belgian Minister of the Colonies announced in 1918 that the government was planning to sell the agricultural research station at Kitobola in Bas-Congo near Thysville (Mbanza Ngungu).  The following year, Jean Buzon, a former agent of the Congo Free State who became the first President of the Chamber of Commerce in Boma in 1905, put together a deal which secured the concession for his Compagnie Coloniale Belge and its subsidiary, the Plantations et Elevages de Kitobola (PEK).  The farm had been established during the Congo Free State period, piloting experimental rice cultivation and cattle ranching.  Kitobola is located at the base of the Bangu plateau near the Protestant Kimpese and Tumba Catholic mission stations, respectively.

The rice fields at Kitobola

The Compagnie Coloniale Belge used PEK as its brand, most likely because the larger Compagnie du Congo Belge (CCB) of the Société Générale shared the same acronym. PEK established an office in Kinshasa, with its headquarters in Brussels.  Initially, the company built a two-story building at the end of Avenue Van Gèle on the road to Leopoldville.

The PEK office on Ave. Van Gele

The PEK building (L) viewed from north side of current Supreme Court. Monunment du Souvenir Congolais at right.

King Albert 1er leaving the store -- July 1928

Notwithstanding its agricultural base located mid-way between Leopoldville and Matadi, PEK became one of the principal retailers serving the European community in Leopoldville.  The main store with its Flemish facade, which opened on the prestigious Ave. Beernaert (Ave. Equateur) in 1928, was visited by King Albert during his trip to the colony in July.  Earlier that year, the Buzon created another holding company, Mutuelle Belgo Congolaise, with PEK as the majority shareholder.

The PEK store shortly after completion -- 1928

The interior of the PEK store -- cashier's desk between the stairs

The PEK store interior

The PEK store mezzanine -- pith helmets, lingerie and shoes

The PEK store -- another view of the stairs and mezzanine

The PEK store -- late 1930s

In the 1940s, the original PEK building on Ave. Van Gele became La Rotonde, a popular restaurant and hotel.  However, during the building boom of the 1950s, the property became too valuable for such land use. 

La Rotonde on Ave. Van Gele -- 1940s

The Mutuelle created the Cie. Immobilière Van Gèle and contracted with architect Claude Laurens (See Aug. 15, 2011) in 1954 to design a commercial-residential building on the site, the “Residence Van Gèle”.  At the same time, Laurens also designed the refurbishment of the PEK department store on Ave. Beernaert.  The high-rise was completed in 1956.  The Colibri bistro, which opened in the building in 1956, is reputed to be the oldest bar in Kinshasa.

"Residence Van Gele" on Ave. Lukusa -- looking west (Cohydro building in background)

Interior of the Hewa Bora Airways office (note octagonal skylight)

I grew up knowing about PEK, but we never shopped there.  The SEDEC store on Ave. Bousin (Isiro) was more to our pocketbook.  When I returned to Kinshasa in 2001, the PEK building was the main office of Hewa Bora Airways, one of the more reliable domestic airlines (reliable is always relative in the land of “Air Peut Etre”).  When I returned to Kinshasa in June 2011, Hewa Bora had moved its offices to Blvd. 30 Juin and the venerable PEK building was now Bingo Royale Casino.

The Hewa Bora Airways building -- 2004

The PEK/Compagnie Coloniale Belge building as Bingo Royale Casino - 2009