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Scheepvaarthuis Review

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Scheepvaarthuis

Address: Prins Hendrikkade 108, Centrum, Amsterdam | Map It

Shipping Office

Category: Architectural Sites
Location: Old City Center

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Fodor's Review:

With its extravagantly phantasmagoric zinc-roof detailing spilling over various sculpted sea horses, boat anchors, sea gods (Neptune and his four wives), dolphins, and even shoals of fish, this is one of Amsterdam's most delightful turn-of-the-20th-century structures. Built in 1912 to sport a suitably prow-shaped front, it was used as the headquarters for the major shipping firms that brought back all that booty from Java and the Spice Islands during the final Dutch colonial years. Later used as a public shipping and city transport systems office, it has now been renovated into a five-star hotel, the Grand Amarâth, which opened in June 2007. The 20th-century master architects Piet Kramer, Johan van der May, and Michel de Klerk all contributed to the design of the building; their structure was one of the opening salvos by the fantastic Amsterdam School. The design was so expensive to create, it is not surprising that the Amsterdam School's appeal to fantasy suffered an early demise in the 1930s Depression. After admiring all the ornamentation on the facade, amble around the sides to take in the busts of noted explorers, such as Barentz and Mercator, along with patterned brickwork, and strutting iron tracery. Wander inside to check out the Seven Seas restaurant design, enjoy a drink at the classically restored bar, or book a private tour of the upper floors of the building, with its equally lavish interior.

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