While doing research for a story I am writing I had to find myself some pictures and background info on a bulding in Amsterdam that got utterly destroyed by a fire in 1929.

Here's a small pic of the building, but the picture can be viewed in big zoom (of extreme good quality) if you follow this link and click ZOOM to the right of the pic.

Once the pop-up pops, it has a little menu that allows you to save the pic in best quality; HUGE!



Just a year ago, the same search got me 7 or 8 pics, but now the result was upped with dozens of pics I had never seen before.

Most were of a site called Het Geheugen Van Nederland. Or, in English, The Memory Of The Netherlands. Filled with nostalgia, info, beautiful artwork, architecture. LOADS of great stuff. This site not only listed pics, but also programbooks, making my research even completer.

And, in English as well! So you non-Dutchies can google yer Rembrandt, yer Van Gogh and loads more!

http://www.geheugenvanned...n/homepage

Have fun!

Wow. No takers?



Bitches.

Thank you Gooey. The picture is lovely.

Stymie said:

It is!

I love it!

WOW
Ive witnessed beautiful churches and other land marks being destroyed by fire or demolished and literally cried. One was the huge old sleek deco styled greyhound bus station covered in huge 2 1/2' panels of navy blue tile and clad in aluminum or some metal of some sort. I couldn't believe they destroyed it.
it was something like this, you had to see it in real life, or maybe I was just in awe of it cause I was young and not many things like this remained intact.


this is a similar one

I can't wait!!!!! I love great architecture. I'm going to have a field day.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

When are you going over?

Stymie said:

I'll be there June 11th or 12? I forget.

HamsterHuey said:

That website is a mess, I don't have time for it.....

I have to confess that I have never been to Amsterdam , so which building was destroyed, I am guessing the one on the left.

Wow-It looks like Amsterdam hasn't really changed at all lookinh at the photo. That's great that it has retained some of its old charm.

JDInteractive said:

JD Hows life overseas?

JDInteractive said:

Luckily, during WWII the Germans decided to destroy Rotterdam instead of Amsterdam.....there was/is a lot more industry in Rotterdam!

PREDOMINANT said:

chillichocaholic said:

I am having the time of life. Thanks for asking. Seriously, I have everything I could possibly want in my life right now.

abierman said:

What a shame, it's a stunning piece of architecture.

abierman said:

So I here. Is it true that the Dutch chant 'Where's my bike?!' at football matches against the Germans. I heard the Nazis stole Dutch folks' bikes to stop them getting around.

JDInteractive said:

That's awsome JD, im glad its going well

JDInteractive said:

True. We're bitches like that. We know how to carry a grudge.

Goddamn. I never knew Amsterdam actually had some nice architecture! We just had to burn it to the ground, didn't we...

Sander said:

Now, now. Be nice.

I will give you a tour, if you want.

Is that near the 'magere brug'? You just photoshopped this little wonder just to make Am*dam look good, didn't you?

abierman said:

True dat!

Sander said:

No. And no.

The building is Het Paleis Van Volksvlijt and was situated at the end of de Utrechtsestraat. The same site now hosts the utter ugly Nederlandse Bank, a 70's freakshow.

Thanks. That really is a pretty site. Thanks for the insight!

Sander said:

HamsterHuey said:

some old train stations in the U.S. looked like this before they were leveled

horatio said:

Unbelievable that even in the recent past there was so little regard for architectual past.

I remember a stunning beautiful factory or electrical co or something in the US that was SO beautiful it really broke my heart when I read they tore it down.
Lemme try to find the pic.

It ain't a train station, but it's a fucking Frank Lloyd Wright.



Considered one of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces, the Larkin Administration building is an imposing structure. Built in 1904 to house the internal operations of The Larkin Manufacturing Company, this majestic structure boasted the latest in technological advances for its time as well as the best in Wright design trademarks.

Located on a plot of land between Seneca and Swan Streets, this image shows the building's Seneca Street elevation. Each of the large columns you see on either side of the front of the building (two in the rear as well) contained the stairs, electrical, and plumbing fixtures which left the center interior space as a vast open area for the office workers. the building had central air conditioning and a air evacuation system that purged the interior of stale air at regular intervals and replenished it with fresh, filtered air.

The front entrance was situated to the left of the large fountain you see in the photograph, and only on each base of the globes pictured were any hint as to who the building belonged. The word "Larkin" was inscribed in the concrete which faced inward toward the pillars and outward toward the large columns. The inscription was difficult to see from the street.

The interior contained the newest and best Wright innovations which included what came to be known as "Suicide Chairs" -- three legged in design and not in the least bit safe if an unweary office worker sat the wrong way and accidently leaned to one side. When asked to please redesign his chairs because they were considered unsafe, Wright responded by saying that "the workers should sit up straight and stop being so foolish in his chairs." Needless to say the chairs were not redesigned. On a lighter note, President and CEO of the Larkin Company, John D. Larkin, wanted no part of Wright's fancy designs and had an old fashioned leather high-back chair with a oak roll-top desk in his office.

The entire Larkin complex was situated between Swan and Exchange streets and ran from Van Renssalear to Hamburg streets. Most of the complex still exists today and can be seen by a do it yourself driving tour. It is well worth the visit since most of this area of the city is untouched. The street alone gives way to signs of a forgotten era as even the sewer covers date back to 1902.

Sadly, the Larkin Administration Building was demolished in 1950 for a reason that to this day remains a mystery. The Larkin Company itself had fallen on hard times during the 1930's and found it very difficult to compete with the changing social climate of the country. By the 1940s they were a shadow of their former self. The building became used as a store front for Larkin products, but the public just stopped coming. Rather than attempt to put the Wright building to good use, it was decided to bring it down.

However, this was no easy task. The building resisted attempts to demolish it and the end result took an incredibly long period of time. Ultimately, it had to come down brick by brick. The demolition crew lost a fortune on the deal as did the City of Buffalo.

To this day, the Larkin Administration Building can be seen as a white outline that was drawn into the decaying parking lot that replaced the building, and one brick pillar of an outer perimeter wall remains as a testament of another Buffalo legacy lost forever.

HamsterHuey said:

wow , unbelievable it had to come down brick by brick.
but on a different note many of frank Lloyd wrights works still exist today (even factories) and many of his original plans are sought after and executed by a team and people who have the money.
Like noted, furniture wasn't strong point.
[Edited 4/10/08 6:30am]