Over the years, Rotterdam has seen water differently, both literally and figuratively. The inner harbors used to be central, but now they've been filled in or are getting lost amidst all the tall buildings. To illustrate the waterfront view over the years, you'll see some aerial photographs related to this theme here. These four photos were collected by the Water City SocietyThey call themselves “a group of curious residents” of the Maritime District, who create exhibitions and give tours about the heritage in this area.
See the photos with captions below.
View of Leuvehaven towards the west (1926)
Photo from the Rotterdam City Archives. A beautiful overview from 1926 of the compact city around the Leuvehaven, with many iconic buildings such as the fish market at the head of the Leuvehaven. The water to the right of the Leuvehaven is the Blaak, which was filled in after the bombing. The tall building on the left by the water was the Van Nelle Factory. Plans for the new Van Nelle Factory on the edge of the city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were in the works at the time because the building no longer met safety requirements.
View of the Leuvehaven towards the north (1950)
Photo from the Rotterdam City Archives. In 1950, the city center was still largely undeveloped. The outline of the badly damaged Laurenskerk can still be seen along the Aerial track, where the Binnenrotte is now. On Coolsingel, the town hall and post office survived the bombing. The first new construction in this area (later than this photo) consisted of several bank buildings on the filled-in Blaak. At Wijnhaven, four warehouses were still built in a traditional style, but later modern architecture was preferred. The city center was given a completely different, primarily commercial, purpose. The wide roads gave ample space to car traffic.
Unveiling of 'The Destroyed City' by Ossip Zadkine (1953) with a view of the Leuvehaven towards the south
Photo by Kees Molkenboer (1907-1987) from the collection of the Netherlands Photo Museum. Before the Maritime Museum stood here, Zadkine's statue commemorating the bombing already stood there. Then, a little further west, where we are now standing on the roof. There was actually no budget for this statue, but thanks to a secret donation from Gerrit van der Wal, then director of the Bijenkorf department store, it was built.
View of the Leuvehaven towards the north (1983)
Photo from the Rotterdam City Archives. From south to north, towards the future location of the Maritime Museum. Zadkine's statue has already been moved. When the metro was built under the Blaak, the visible connection between this area and the Leuvekolk, and thus with the other inland harbors, disappeared. The water still flows there, but now underground.
