After the demolition of the old buildings in 1897–98, the site turned into an urban void because the project lacked sufficient finance. To increase the area's appeal during the Brussels International Exposition of 1910, the king ordered the French landscape architect Pierre Vacherot to design a "temporary" garden on the hill. It featured a park and a monumental staircase with cascading fountains and terraces descending the gentle slope from the Place Royale down to /. In 1910, a year after the death of Leopold II, the new park was inaugurated by his successor, King Albert I.