Old Amsterdam

I found these old photos of Amsterdam on a Facebook page entitled Oud Amsterdam. The credits for each of them are also to be found on the respective page, so it is worth taking a look.

It has been a really nice adventure to go through all these amazing photographs of Amsterdam and see older versions of the city and its inhabitants. The streets in the centre seemed so peaceful and walkable (compared with today, when all you think of is how to avoid them because of the crowds) and there is an overall sense of space and enjoyment. Not to mention the elegance of women!

From the selection I made below, I personally loved the photos depicting women taken during “Skirt day” (was it actually a day dedicated to the celebration of the skirt?!), and those of leisure activities. It was also a surprise to see that the Overtoom (nowadays a main street in the Oud-West) used to be a canal.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Dam Square during Uitmarkt festival, 1989:

Rokin, 1973:

Stationsplein in front of Amsterdam`s Central Station, 1968:

Reguliersbreestraat, 1988:

Trompettersteeg – De Wallen (Red Light District), 1968:

Launching of a ship at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam-Noord, 1974:

Spui, 1978:

At the beach in Amsterdam, on Prins Hendrikkade, 1947! You may see the Scheepsvaartmuseum (Navy Museum) in the top left:

Utrechtsestraat, 1967:

Kinkerstraat, 1937:

Michael Jackson in the Jordaan, Lauriergracht/Hazenstraat, 1977:

Queuing for the tram to Zandvoort (beach town). Spuistraat, June 4th 1950:

Child carriage, April 1949:

Ferry crossing the IJ, 1973:

At the terrace on Haarlemmerstraat, 1981:

Wash day in the Jordaan, 1951:

Leidsestraat, 1910:

Nice weather in the Jordaan, 1965:

Rembrandtplein, the 70s:

Queensday in the Jordaan, April 30th 1988:

Children in the Jordaan staring at an Easter shop, 1957:

Skirt day! Beethovenstraat, 1967:

Central Station Amsterdam, 1949:

Beautiful Amsterdam street photo! Palmgracht 79, the 60s:

Fishing in the Singel on a Sunday, 1973:

The IJ in the 70s:

Damrak, 1910:

Dam Square in the 50s:

Haarlemmerstraat, 1947:

Traffic jam at the Muntplein, 1958:

Christmas trees burning on Van Hallstraat, 1960:

Skating on the canals, 1930:

Kalverstraat, busy before Christmas, 1960:

Christmas tree on Dam Square, 1965:

Java island, 1960:

Christmas market at the Bloemenmarkt (Flower market) with Munt tower in the background, 1965:

Dam Square, the 70s:

Leidsestraat, 1968:

Kalverstraat, 1965:

Central Station, the 2nd platform on the Westside, the 20s:

Leidseplein, 1964:

Mercatorplein, the 30s:

Overtoom, 1896:

Dam Square, around 1900:

Damrak, 1950:

Oliebollen (doughnuts) at Dam Square, December 28th 1971:

Waiting in the line in front of Tuschinski cinema, 1973:

Hoofdweg as seen from Mercatorplein when looking towards Erasmusgracht, 1927:

Central Station, 1915:

Westergasfabriek on Haarlemmerweg, the 50s:

Willy Alberti (1926-1985) chatting on the Damrak:

Forbidden to horse and carriage, 1952. Wooden bridge over the Prinseneilandsgracht, as seen from the Nieuwe Teertuinen:

Skirt day in Amsterdam, 1973:

Dappermarkt, 1961:

Amstel towards Muntplein, 1962:

Jan Pieter Heijestraat corner Jacob van Lennepkade, beginning of 1900:

Annual cleaning of the canals, February 23rd 1961:

Leidseplein, 1960:

Unloading supplies from a barge into a warehouse, Prinsengracht:

Overtoom, 1894:

Picking up domestic trash in Amsterdam, 1950:

Waterlooplein, formerly known as Leprozengracht, 1870:

Throwing snowballs on the Eerste Helmersstraat:

Oudezijds Achterburgwal, 1895:

Ice-breaker on the Amstel, the 30s:

Skating on the frozen canals around the Nieuwmarkt, the 50s:

The Oude Kerk opened its doors in 1306, thus being the 1st church in Amsterdam. It survived the fire of 1421 and the one in 1452, which makes it the oldest building (still standing) in Amsterdam. Photo dating from 1951:

Who knows, maybe one day the photos on Amsterdamming are going to have the same impact in the minds of Amsterdam`s future inhabitants or its lovers. 🙂

Tip: If you live in Amsterdam and are curious to see what your street used to look like in the past, just go to Amsterdam City Archive site and fill in the name of the street in the search field. You will be surprised and it`s addictive! 🙂