4 ? Walk on to the former town hall of the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel (3) at the corner of Amsteldijk and Tolstraat. Former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel The town hall, designed by R. Kuipers in Neore naissance style, was completed in 1892. Above the door you can still see the coat of arms of the former municipality. Typical Neorenaissance features are the classical stepped gables com bined with turrets and bays that give the building a historical look. Other wellknown examples of this architectural style in Amsterdam are the Stadsschouwburg (theatre) in Leidseplein and the Tropenmuseum (Tropics Museum) on Mauritskade. The building was used as a town hall for only four years. Until 1896, the municipal boundary lay a little further back, at what is now Van Osta destraat. From the mid19th century onwards the northern part of NieuwerAmstel expanded rapidly. More and more people came to live here, and more and more enterprises set up in business here. One of the reasons for this was that plenty of room was available here, another that taxes were lower than in Amsterdam. This greatly dis pleased the municipal authorities of Amsterdam, which made attempts to incorporate this part of NieuwerAmstel. For NieuwerAmstel itself this was a good incentive to invest lots of money in the construction of houses and roads. In 1892, to underline its resistance to Amsterdam's incor poration efforts, it opened its own town hall right next to the municipal boundary. But the munici pality's resistance, which even included petitions to the Dutch government, was ultimately in vain in 1896 Amsterdam incorporated this part of NieuwerAmstel. From 1914 until 2007 the former town hall and the adjacent new buildings accom modated Amsterdam's municipal archives. The municipal authorities are now going to turn the site into a centre of creative and cultural activities. When Amsterdam's days of economic prosperity began to wane the country estates lost their original function. They fell into disrepair and were pulled down or used as factories. Town dwellers did however continue to come to this area to relax. There were inns and pleasure gardens here, and people could enjoy the spectacular views across the water of the Amstel and the green polder. A famous occupant of Amsterdam who liked to come here to be inspired by the area's tranquil environment was Rembrandt. He made several etchings that give a good impression of the atmosphere in the polder. Tranquil environment The polder house at Rustenburgerstraat 8 now looks a little lost between all the other buildings. Here you can see that the street level used to be quite a bit lower than it is today. The polder in which these houses once stood was called Binnendijksche Buitenveldertsche Polder. It extended to what is now the town of Amstelveen. In the Golden Age in particu lar, when Amsterdam was the economic cen tre of the world, wealthy merchants liked to build their country estates here, on the banks of the Amstel and the Wetering, where there was plenty of room for large gardens, too. Here they could temporarily escape the bust ling, unhealthy life inside the town walls. ? The walk starts at the corner of Ceintuurbaan and Amsteldijk. Alongside the tram stop at Ceintuurbaan 251 you see a remarkable building adorned with gnomes. (1) Walk right from Ceintuur- baan onto Amsteldijk. You will pass Van Ostadestraat and a typical polder house (2) at the corner of Rustenburger- straat and Amsteldijk. The house with the gnomes This house, designed by A.C. Boersma, was built in 1884. A remarkable aspect of the building is the unusual combination of Neogothic elements such as pointed arches and gargoyles with Neorenaissance elements such as window crosses and stone blocks and the decorated woodwork at the pro- jecting roof elements. Most conspicuous are of course the two gnomes throwing a ball at each other at the cornice. They are claimed to symbolise the two contractors who helped one another in the building's construction. Another inter- pretation is based on the name of the man who commissioned the building work: Van Ballegooijen (= ball throwing). The house adorned with gnomes (©www .alphons.net). Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn. 'De Omval', 1645. De Omval was originally a peninsula between the Amstel and Water- graafsmeer a lake that was later reclaimed. This is now the site of the Rembrandt tower (Museum Het Rembrandthuis, www.rembrandthuis.nl). 3
4 ? Walk on to the former town hall of the municipality of Nieuwer-Amstel (3) at the corner of Amsteldijk and Tolstraat. Former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel The town hall, designed by R. Kuipers in Neore naissance style, was completed in 1892. Above the door you can still see the coat of arms of the former municipality. Typical Neorenaissance features are the classical stepped gables com bined with turrets and bays that give the building a historical look. Other wellknown examples of this architectural style in Amsterdam are the Stadsschouwburg (theatre) in Leidseplein and the Tropenmuseum (Tropics Museum) on Mauritskade. The building was used as a town hall for only four years. Until 1896, the municipal boundary lay a little further back, at what is now Van Osta destraat. From the mid19th century onwards the northern part of NieuwerAmstel expanded rapidly. More and more people came to live here, and more and more enterprises set up in business here. One of the reasons for this was that plenty of room was available here, another that taxes were lower than in Amsterdam. This greatly dis pleased the municipal authorities of Amsterdam, which made attempts to incorporate this part of NieuwerAmstel. For NieuwerAmstel itself this was a good incentive to invest lots of money in the construction of houses and roads. In 1892, to underline its resistance to Amsterdam's incor poration efforts, it opened its own town hall right next to the municipal boundary. But the munici pality's resistance, which even included petitions to the Dutch government, was ultimately in vain in 1896 Amsterdam incorporated this part of NieuwerAmstel. From 1914 until 2007 the former town hall and the adjacent new buildings accom modated Amsterdam's municipal archives. The municipal authorities are now going to turn the site into a centre of creative and cultural activities. When Amsterdam's days of economic prosperity began to wane the country estates lost their original function. They fell into disrepair and were pulled down or used as factories. Town dwellers did however continue to come to this area to relax. There were inns and pleasure gardens here, and people could enjoy the spectacular views across the water of the Amstel and the green polder. A famous occupant of Amsterdam who liked to come here to be inspired by the area's tranquil environment was Rembrandt. He made several etchings that give a good impression of the atmosphere in the polder. Tranquil environment The polder house at Rustenburgerstraat 8 now looks a little lost between all the other buildings. Here you can see that the street level used to be quite a bit lower than it is today. The polder in which these houses once stood was called Binnendijksche Buitenveldertsche Polder. It extended to what is now the town of Amstelveen. In the Golden Age in particu lar, when Amsterdam was the economic cen tre of the world, wealthy merchants liked to build their country estates here, on the banks of the Amstel and the Wetering, where there was plenty of room for large gardens, too. Here they could temporarily escape the bust ling, unhealthy life inside the town walls. ? The walk starts at the corner of Ceintuurbaan and Amsteldijk. Alongside the tram stop at Ceintuurbaan 251 you see a remarkable building adorned with gnomes. (1) Walk right from Ceintuur- baan onto Amsteldijk. You will pass Van Ostadestraat and a typical polder house (2) at the corner of Rustenburger- straat and Amsteldijk. The house with the gnomes This house, designed by A.C. Boersma, was built in 1884. A remarkable aspect of the building is the unusual combination of Neogothic elements such as pointed arches and gargoyles with Neorenaissance elements such as window crosses and stone blocks and the decorated woodwork at the pro- jecting roof elements. Most conspicuous are of course the two gnomes throwing a ball at each other at the cornice. They are claimed to symbolise the two contractors who helped one another in the building's construction. Another inter- pretation is based on the name of the man who commissioned the building work: Van Ballegooijen (= ball throwing). The house adorned with gnomes (©www .alphons.net). Etching by Rembrandt van Rijn. 'De Omval', 1645. De Omval was originally a peninsula between the Amstel and Water- graafsmeer a lake that was later reclaimed. This is now the site of the Rembrandt tower (Museum Het Rembrandthuis, www.rembrandthuis.nl). 3
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