It was created in 1826 and stood on the Rue Royale/Koningsstraat in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels' Northern Quarter financial district, until its relocation in 1938 to the National Botanic Garden of Belgium in Meise, Flemish Brabant.

In 1826, five notable botany enthusiasts acquired a suitable wooded lot of 6 hectares (15 acres), in what was then a suburban town north of the city, to create an ensemble housing the already existing collections of plants.

[3] The botanical building was partly designed by the architect Tilman-François Suys and the construction works, carried out between 1826 and 1829, were directed by the decorative artist Pierre-François Gineste.

Between 1894 and 1898, the authorities commissioned various fountains, electrical lighting, and the addition of numerous sculptures, in order to both beautify the park and stimulate public art and artists in the country.

[1] For the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58), the landscape architect René Pechère [fr] redesigned the garden, dividing it into three separate terraces with a mixture of styles (French, English and Italian).

[1][4] Since its reallocation in 1984, the original botanical building now stands as a cultural centre for the French Community of Belgium called Le Botanique,[3] while its historical statues, and its remarkable collection of species of large trees, remains intact.

It consists of a central rotunda with a dome, and is flanked by two wings lined with windows, each ending in a slightly offset pavilion with Ionic columns.

[1] Though it has been transformed to meet its new function as a cultural centre (including concert halls and showrooms), the interior of the building retains most of its original appearance.

The third, lower section of the park is designed in the style of an English landscape garden, with winding pathways, ornamental lakes and shrub-lined lawns.

Some of the 43 sculptors involved include Albert Desenfans, Julien Dillens, Paul Du Bois, Jules Lagae, Léon Mignon, Victor Rousseau, François Rude, and Charles Samuel.