In the middle of the 19th century, Ghent was the most important trade city of Flanders. With the cooperatives, the socialist movement established a network of socio-economic centres. One of these cooperatives was the ‘Samenwerkende Maatschappij Vooruit’ or Vooruit Cooperative. The growth of the movement also meant that new buildings had to be constructed. In 1910 the Vooruit Cooperative bought a plot on the Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat. Ferdinand Dierkens was designated as the architect. The intention was to open the doors of the Vooruit halls in 1913, the year of the world fair, but strikes meant that Vooruit could not open on time. As a result of World War I, the planned opening festivities could not take place in 1914 either. After being occupied by the Germans during the war, Vooruit flourished as a socialist community centre between 1918 and 1940.
But After World War II, things started to go downhill: fewer and fewer activities in halls that grew more and more derelict every year. At the beginning of the 1980s, there were plans to sell the building, but the long-term tenancy agreement between the Vooruit Cooperative and the Arts Centre blew new life into the halls.
