The story of my Amsterdam Canal House Singel 224 is fictional. In fact, there is no number 224 on the real Singel as the numbers on the canal jump from 214 to 236. Apparently there once was a house at that address, I found a photo of it in the Amsterdam archives 12 years ago. I have not found out why the address no longer exists.
Even though the address doesn't actually exist, I do like to use real historical elements to create a background story. So, lately I have been researching some of the history of the area around Singel 224 through paintings, old maps and photos. This is a long post and I'm afraid not very interesting for many of you…
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The Singel Canal was dug in 1428 and 1450. For more than 150 years the canal formed the western border of the city.In the 17th century the country experienced enormous growth in trade, science and art, and Amsterdam started expanding hugely. The animation below shows just how much it grew.
The story of my Canal House Singel 224 starts when it was built in 1638. It is located very near the city centre and close to where all the main trading is taking place in the city. Not much is known about the house and its owner at that time, but it is safe to assume that it was built for and owned by a wealthy tradesman. The location on the canal would make it easy to transport goods from the harbor to the house and vice versa.
Ten years after the canal house was built, work was started on the new City Hall of Amsterdam. It was to be a magnificent building, showing the wealth and importance of the city. The new City Hall is only a stone's throw away from Singel 224.
Building the new City Hall on the Dam in Amsterdam. The building in the foreground is the Weigh House, where trade goods were weighed to ensure honest trade and proper taxation. Painting by Jacob van der Ulft, 1636-1667 (collection of the Amsterdam Museum).
Goods were transported by boat on the river and the canals. The Weigh House opposite the City Hall was an important trade center. Singel 224 is only a few minutes' walk away from this busy market square. Painting by Jan van Kessel.
source: http://www.amsterdam.info
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The City Hall seen from the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. It looks like there is a plant sale or flower market on the left bank. Painting by Gerrit Berckheyde, 1686.
In 1742 the Canal House was bought by the wealthy tea trading widow Martha de Kleijne. The house is remodeled inside and out in Louis XIV and XV style. This drawing shows what the house looked like around that time, with the top two floors as attics for storing the merchant's goods.
Map of Amsterdam , 1748.
The red arrow shows the location of Singel 224. The purple rectangle shows the City Hall.
1751, painting by Jan ten Compe.The Mint Tower seen from the Singel. This part of the Singel is at the end of the canal, where it meets the Amstel River (still in the center of the city).
In 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, Lodewijk (Louis) Napoleon, became the first king of the Netherlands. As there was not enough money to build a new palace, he transformed the City Hall into his palace in 1808, making Amsterdam his official residence.
As the Weigh House obstructed the view from and to the palace and was a very busy and noisy place, King Louis Napoleon ordered to have it demolished. Louis Napoleon and his wife Hortense de Beauharnais only lived in the palace for a short while, but the building would never go back to being the City Hall. It always remained a palace.
The red arrow shows the location of Singel 224. The purple rectangle shows the City Hall.
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'Arrival of Napoleon in Amsterdam', painted by Mattheus Ignatius van Bree.
Yes, those are French flags on the buildings.
As the Weigh House obstructed the view from and to the palace and was a very busy and noisy place, King Louis Napoleon ordered to have it demolished. Louis Napoleon and his wife Hortense de Beauharnais only lived in the palace for a short while, but the building would never go back to being the City Hall. It always remained a palace.
The area around Singel 224 stayed much the same for 200 years, but around 1895 it was all about to change. Plans were drawn up to build a wide road cutting right across the canals towards the Palace.
Map from before 1895, showing the proposed new road 'Raadhuisstraat', a few houses down from Singel 224. The red arrow shows the location of Singel 224, 'A' is the Palace, 'B' is the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and 'C' is the Westerkerk (Western Church).
I suppose the new road was to meant give more importance or grandeur to the Palace, creating a vista. Maybe it did look nice when the road was first built, but now it is just an ugly, wide strip of asphalt with lots of traffic (see last two photos)..
Original map from: bmz.amsterdam.nl
The Raadhuisstraat today (photo from Google Maps).
The layout is still exactly as proposed in the 19th century. The red dot indicates the location of Singel 224. The Palace is on the lower right.
The layout is still exactly as proposed in the 19th century. The red dot indicates the location of Singel 224. The Palace is on the lower right.
The photos below show what the area looked like before the road was built, and during the demolition of houses to make room for the road.
The Warmoes Canal before it was filled in to create the road. View towards the houses on the Herengracht. Photo: A.T. Rooswinkel, around 1894.
1894. Photo by Jacob Olie.
Warmoes Canal 10-26 (after 1895 this was the Raadhuisstraat). View from the Singel towards the Herengracht with Singel 242 on the corner left and Singel 240 on the corner right.
bron: wikipedia
1894. Photo by Jacob Olie.
The Warmoes Canal a few months before it was filled in, view towards the Palace. The houses in front of the Palace are being demolished.
5 april 1896. Photo by Jacob Olie.
Warmoes Canal 10 to 26 (f.r.t.l.) after it was filled in. Houses along the Herengracht are being demolished to make room for the road. View from the roof of Singel 107 towards the Herengracht with the Westerkerk (Western Church) in the background.
The road (Raadhuisstraat) was opened for traffic on 5 November1896.
source: beeldbank.amsterdam.nl
Warmoes Canal 10 to 26 (f.r.t.l.) after it was filled in. Houses along the Herengracht are being demolished to make room for the road. View from the roof of Singel 107 towards the Herengracht with the Westerkerk (Western Church) in the background.
The road (Raadhuisstraat) was opened for traffic on 5 November1896.
source: beeldbank.amsterdam.nl
Photos from Google Maps.
View of the Singel (with the red arrow pointing to where number 224 would be, conveniently hidden behind the trees) and the Raadhuisstraat. The lower photo shows the Palace at the end of the road on the right. Not much grandeur with this road I think. It was unusually quiet when this photo was taken, normally the road is filled with traffic. I don't think this road was an improvement. The old canals were so much prettier.
The house on the corner with the red brick facade and white side elevation (Singel 240) is the same house you can see on the two photos from 1894 and 1896. The Westerkerk is still there, but is obscured from view in the last photos.
And so, the story grows...
