Huis Janssens shines again like never before. The facade and interior of the stately building have regained all their original, grandiose colours.
The house dates from 1878–1880 and was designed by architect Pieter Van Kerkhove. It was built on behalf of poet, art lover, industrialist, municipal councillor and member of parliament Alfons Janssens.
Huis Janssens is located in Zamanstraat, which – shortly before Alfons Janssens bought his building plot from Mr De Jaeghere-Cardo in 1876 – was constructed as a connection between Regentiestraat and Ankerstraat. The house, visible from the prestigious Stationsstraat (via Dr. Verdurmenstraat), was originally detached with a landscaped garden behind it. The museum site was later expanded from there. In 1971, the city bought the adjacent textile site Peeters, Van Haute and Duyver, where SteM is now located. We also know architect Pieter Van Kerkhove as the designer of, among other things, the current neo-Gothic town hall of Sint-Niklaas (1876–1878) and the Bank van Waes (1881), the later library of the Davidsfonds (now funeral director Van Dael Sereni, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwstraat 32).