WaverlyAugustine

Some European casinos operated for only a handful of weeks each year, existing almost entirely as seasonal punctuation. Ostend's Kursaal, along the Belgian coast, followed exactly this rhythm through much of the early twentieth century, opening its doors each summer as wealthy visitors arrived from Brussels, London, and Paris, then closing for the remaining months while the North Sea turned grey and empty. The building itself, an elaborate structure of iron and glass rebuilt several times after...