What my city lost.

[Whitehouse]

Detroit is not the only city which sometimes is governed by loons. Here's an example of what my city lost. I know, it's not a big drama like the Statler or Tuller but this also was a hotel. The only thing that remaines today is the name of the building. It was replaced by an office structure. It's still called Klanderij.
This hotel came down in 1972. It was replaced in 1976. Both pictures are more or less from the same angle. As a reference point, the building in the background is still there.


Back then...


....and now.

People are still scratching their heard why this had to go. A supermarket chain bought this hotel and knocked it down to erect a shop. It never came and the lot became a vacant scar within city center for three decades. It became a.... parkinglot. But the footprint was just enough for about 15 cars.

After it was gone they made a discovery in the archives. The foundations of this building were of midieval times!! [[The facade was added more recent than that.)


After the supermarket plans fell through, the chain forgot to calculate parkingspaces [[go figure) they had their eyes on this object, The church of Saint Beneface. Now I'm not Catholic but I sure wound miss this building if it's gone. Thankfully the plans did not materialize.



However, this chuch did have it's moments of tragedy. During a major storm the top of the tower came crashing down. It was replaced with a new one. [[The restoration of the tower in the bing maps picture is unrelated to the event.)

[Detroitnerd]

Thoughtful post. Thanks for sharing. That monstrous building in the second photo seems just BARELY preferable to an empty lot!

[Whitehouse]

Thoughtful post. Thanks for sharing. That monstrous building in the second photo seems just BARELY preferable to an empty lot!

Well, it could have been worse. But if you compare it to the building it replaced, it really is a monster. The real monster is on the opposite side of the canal.

Behind that tree. [[A tree that was transplanted from a different location. It really complements that little square.)


This is the Amacitia hotel on the right. And likewise to the Klanderij, only the name stuck around.


See that small tower just past the McDonald's as a reference.


Some time ago this was almost unanimously chosen as the ugliest building in town. Thoroughly deserved title.

Now some project developers are making plans to convert the building in something quite different. And anything different at this point is an improvement. Even this....


Believe it or not, the core is the same building.

The building which was torn down where the Mac is now, was the birthplace of a detective writer named Havank. If you look closely at the side of the Mac you'll see the figure of "The Shadow" on the wall. The figure of the "Shadow" was a design by Dick Bruna, most famous for creating Miffy. Most remarkable thing about Havank was that he mostly live outside of the Netherlands and that he died just yards away from his birthplace.... at the Amacitia hotel!


"The Shadow"
Thankfully this house is still around, the birthplace of our most famous sister, Mata Hari.


Just opposite that house a stattue for her was erected.

Statue of Mata Hari. This must have been the inspiration to it.

[canuck]

Good stuff Whitehouse, thanks for your post. I love Holland. I remember walking in Amsterdam streets and the most strinking thing is how these big windows open up onto peoples houses. Nice cosy lamps and just a general feeling of freedom and openness. Love it! Is the Milky Way in Amsterdam still around?

[Whitehouse]

Good stuff Whitehouse, thanks for your post. I love Holland. I remember walking in Amsterdam streets and the most strinking thing is how these big windows open up onto peoples houses. Nice cosy lamps and just a general feeling of freedom and openness. Love it! Is the Milky Way in Amsterdam still around?

Thr Melkweg [[Milkyway) is indeed still around. And it's sister venue Paradiso as well. The Paradiso is the favorite venue of the Rolling Stones, worldwide. I shook Chuck D's hand [[Public Enemy) at an event there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melkweg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradiso_[[Amsterdam)
The Paradiso is a converted church.

[canuck]

Great! I still have my member's card from 1981 [[still good?) I stayed at a small hostel in Vondelpark
There were bands playing with large projection screens showing some pretty heavyduty films.
Anyways, bad architecture has sprung up everywere, We lost a lot of very nice houses and buildings in Montreal's downtown in the sixties and seventies especially in the Golden Square Mile area which has some of the best mansions in North America. It is a lot more difficult now to touch those buildings.

[oladub]

The torn down hotel does have more charm than it's replacement. However, the replacement building is a building most US cities would be pleased to have. One can imagine the corner windows, bay window, sloping windows in an apartment. Very nice.

I would make one improvement. There should be some greenery between the building and the bicycle trail as wall to wall pavement looks barren.

Also, I am surprised to see so much litter around the bus stop. There is a waste basket about 30' from to the left. I don't think of the Dutch as litterers. There is some litter around the ugly yellow building too.