Spaces become branded or scripted through the intentional layering of symbolism upon the built environment, the visual and performative narration of a story, and the casting of an emblem that both informs and controls its greater socio-cultural context. In the compellingly retrospective “neo-colonial” 2000–2001 renovation or rebranding of Tunis’ Avenue Bourguiba, which included the expansion of sidewalks, the installation of café terraces and new monumental structures, the preservation of colonialist buildings and new construction using vaguely European styles of architecture, was ultimately a highly symbolic accomplishment that revived the public environment first engineered by French ex-patriots in the 1860s. These acts also contributed to the generation of revenue on site, the composition of an urban and national identity and the reception of Tunis’ image abroad. In so doing, they place Tunisia’s capital outside the traditional conception of postcolonial urbanism that assumes an opposition to colonial legacies, and at the same time demonstrates a longstanding tradition of branding environmental storytelling, urban theming or scripting; concepts generally considered to be western, postmodern and exclusively commercial in origin and practice. This essay shall outline the modification of the streetscape in the composition of a legible urban icon and indicator of Tunisia’s various socio-political and cultural personalities throughout its history. It will identify three distinct historic periods and the dominant themes or spatial brands that guided the form of the Avenue in each—“Parisian Colonial” (1860–1956), “Tunisian Modern” (1956–2000) and “Parisian Cosmopolitan” (2000–2010). It will not only present the physical changes made to the built environment, but also attempt to explain their underlying stimuli and their resultant socio-cultural effects. Looking forward, this work will investigate the potential for a new Avenue identity in light of the recent regime change that may likely bring with it a reassessment of the capital’s relationship with centralized authority, the west and its colonial and Bourguiba/Ben Ali-era heritage. Based upon a wide array of historical and contemporary source material, ephemera and personal observation on site, the interdisciplinary essay will bring Tunis into an emerging scholarly discourse. It will challenge the predominance of Algiers and Casablanca as unrivaled representatives of French colonial and postcolonial experiences in North Africa, while also further developing the concept of historical place branding in a non-Western context.