Title Monument for Albert Dumont
Design Alexis Dumont (°1877, Sint-Jans Molenbeek – †1962, Brussels)
Material White stone, bronze
Installation 1926
Location A. Dumontlaan 11
Inscription (in French): ‘To the architect
ALBERT DUMONT
Creator of the beach
His admirers His friends’
Albert Dumont played a major role in the creation and beauty of De Panne. A monument was dedicated to his honour in 1926. Its design was entrusted to his son, architect Alexis Dumont. Sculptor Jules Lagae designed the medallion with the image of Albert Dumont.
Albert Dumont was born in Neufchâteau in 1853. He came from a prosperous family of lawyers and literary men. A career in law was therefore all traced out for him. Just before the end of his education, however, he changed to fine arts in order to become an architect. At that time, there were no architecture schools he wanted to study at, so he learnt the profession ‘on the job’. He quickly established a name for himself in Brussels but was drawn to the sea, the dunes and the beach. He arrived in De Panne as a young man, full of ideas, ideals and dreams... As a result of his friendship with land-owner Pedro Ollevier and industrialist Arthur Bonzel, he was able to realise many houses, streets, sewerage systems, electricity and so on. The First World War saw many houses destroyed but he was able to restore many of them thanks to war compensation. His health slowly deteriorated and he died on 26 October 1920.