Elandsgracht Amsterdam

The Elandsgracht is situated between the Prinsengracht and the Singelgracht in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam. This area, commonly known as one of the prettiest and village-like neighborhoods of the Dutch capital city, was built in 1613. It was specifically designed to house laborers and immigrants. In  this period of time, demand for craftsmanship, tailors, carpenters and other suppliers was high and so the first inhabitants of the Jordaan prospered.

The Elandsgracht got its name from the numerous tanners that lived and worked in the Jordaan at the time and prepared, processed and sold hides by the hundreds. As more and more people move into this area of town, home owners start subletting their attics, basements and spare rooms to entire families. As always, inventive solutions against housing shortage were soon to be found all over the Jordaan, such as lifting a roof to fit in an entire extra floor inside a home. As houses grew taller, the streets appeared to become narrower. Homes were split into a front-of-house and a back-of-house. Long narrow hallways were created to connect the two and closets were turned into cupboard beds. During this time of rapid growth, construction was often rushed and people cut corners to save money. As a result, foundations underneath newly built housing were often shoddy and over time, many of these homes would start to ‘sink’ into the ground – sometimes several feet.

As the 19^th century progressed, Amsterdam was no longer considered the epicenter of trade and shipping in The Netherlands. The Jordaan neighborhood was struck by increasing poverty as a result. This led to more and more abandoned houses, that inevitably fell prey to neglect.  The Elandsgracht was eventually filled up in 1891 due to the increasing stench emanating from the waterway. Around the same time, the Palmgracht, Goudsbloemgracht, Lindengracht, Anjeliersgracht and the Rozengracht all met a similar fate. The deterioration of the neighborhood continued and would not stop for a good half century, until after the Second World War.

Photo by Breitner, Elandsgracht round 1895

In the 1960s, Amsterdam prospered once again, and the newly found affluence led to grand, ambitious plans for renovation all over the city. Any and all small scale construction projects had to make way for large blocks of housing to accommodate the inflow of new Amsterdammers. The city council saw the Jordaan neighborhood as a priority project – they had neglected it for decades, but now jumped at the opportunity to completely renovate the entire area from the ground up. As ambitious schemes of this magnitude will have it, mass protests among the population ensued. When newly elected council member Han Lammers took office in 1970, he made his first order of business to completely reject the demolition of the decrepit housing and instead proposed a conservation project, restoring the Jordaan to its former glory. The layout of the streets had to remain intact, new housing was only to be approved if it fit in with the original buildings in the area and incentives were provided to attract more small businesses to the Jordaan. It is the combination of these measures that have made this eclectic neighborhood  so popular and loved by so many over the years.

Truus was born and raised in the South of the Netherlands and has been living in Amsterdam for more then thirty years. Together with her husband Anton, born and raised in Amsterdam, she walks through the city. They enjoy the diversity of shops, cultural amenities and architectural buildings in the city centre. It’s the walkability of the city of Amsterdam what they like the most. Favourite is a walk to the Elandsgracht, closely to their home in the Kinkerbuurt. They visit the Antiques Centre quite often, with all the divers products like paintings, furniture, jewellery, maps, and so on. Anton tells us that the building used to be a Peugeot garage. He remembers the shift to antiques centre. “It started with selling small amounts of antique products on the ground and later on tables.” Nowadays the products are shown in displays or during the so called ‘table market’ on Wednesdays and Sundays. From the Antique Centre Anton en Truus go to bakery Arnold Cornelis and butcher Fa. Koopman. “The butcher is very well known and a family business for years”, according to Anton. Truus follows by saying that everything at Fa. Koopman is freshly made in their own kitchen.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

After some rainy days, the terraces are outside on the sidewalk again. At the Turkisch cafe-restaurant Divan, Sjoke and Dave are enjoying a drink. They’ve ordered olives, bread and spicey chicken. Sjoke and Dave live in Hoorn, but often visit Amsterdam to shop, stroll and relax on a terrace. They’ve been together for thirteen years. Dave has a construction company and Sjoke regularly works in a shop owned by a friend. From Central Station they walked to the Haarlemmerbuurt, from there to the nine streets and ended up at the Elandsgracht. “We come here quite often, it’s a cozy neighbourhood”, says Sjoke. They are familiar with most of the shops here, like fashion boutiques Tenue de NÎmes and Jefferson Hotel and shoeshop Daniele Dentici. For home accessories they go to Gra8cht. They would love to stay for dinner in Amsterdam, but their sun is at home, so they will stop by at Albert Heijn and Kaashuis Tromp for some delicious snacks to take home.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

Wim and Inge have been living at the Elandsgracht for over 40 years. The great-grandfather of Wim rebuilt the former ‘fort’ of Sjakoo at the Elandsgracht in 1886 with new housing for ‘normal and decent craftsmen’. Since 1968 the couple lives at the first floor and later on they added the ground floor. Their two children have left the house, but stayed closely. Their daugther is the upstairs neighbour and their sun Maarten lives a few doors away. Wim and Inge have seen many changes in the neighbourhood. A lot of the smaller ‘mum and pap’ stores have left, for instance the fish shop. Luckily a few of the shops are still there, like Fa. Koopman. During lunchtime it’s very busy. “When the policemen come to get their lunch, you have to wait in line and be patient”, says Inge. Every Saturday she goes to Arnold Cornelis bakery to get a fresh and delicious cake. From the beginning Cafe the Eland is their favourite bar, but they don’t really go out for dinner. Wim likes cooking, like more family members. His grandfather was a chef in Paris, his brother wrote a cooking book and sun Maarten likes to bake. Since 2000 Wim manages the website www.elandsgracht.nl, with information on the history of the Elandsgracht as well the shops and latest news. Every new shopkeeper he visits and places on the website. The photo above was taken in the beautiful garden. On the street side people can read about the history of this place and see the decorated facade with Sjakoo.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

Lot has been living in Amsterdam for almost three years; close to the Mercatorplein she shares a house with garden with her cousin and dog Lodewijk. She was raised in Hilversum, the place to be for film and television. Since het 17th birthday she works for BNN and other media companies. At the University of Amsterdam she used to study media and culture. This was hard to combine with her work and also a little too theoretical. Since March Lot started her own production company (www.lifeontelevision.com) and the Film academy where she started recently is a better match. Besides, every Sunday Lot helps her dad at the Antiques Centre. Today at the sunny outdoor market. “I really like to help my dad selling antiques. Also my silver cutlery I bought at the Antiques Centre and I found a really nice vintage Chanel jacket for a friendly price”, she tells very enthusiastic. Lot describes the Elandsgracht as a small town withn the city with a friendly vibe. The street is very divers. At the Vlaamsch Broodhuys she likes to get a cup of coffee and visits Key Color to print photo’s. On Sunday’s after work Lot likes to get a drink on the terrace at Cafe de Eland, where it’s great to watch peoples.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Tineke and Jacqueline are sitting on the sidewalk with their little dogs, in front of their second hand clothing shop, New Life Second Hand. They run the shop with a few other girlfriends. The two ladies are real ‘Jordanezen’. Tineke was born and raised at the Elandsstraat and Jacqueline on the other site of the Rozengracht, at the Tuinstraat. Since Jacqueline stopped with her former job, she has more time to spend on the shop. She’s mainly responsible for the children clothes. Together they go shopping for the best second hand clothes, shoes and accessories for their shop. What they don’t sell they give away to homeless projects or other charity. The ladies enjoy running the shop together; it’s a meeting place, a lot of people walk in for a small talk. Over the last few years they’ve seen a lot changing in the neighbourhood. The family Lindeman used to have their potato shop on the corner of the Hazenstraat and the Elandsgracht, before they became a franchise Albert Heijn and moved towards the Prinsengracht. “For me it will always be Lindeman”, says Tineke . “Across the street there used to be a bakery, where framer Bel Ami is located. The Jordaan is an attractive neighbourhood now. It used to be different. When I was younger, people used to look a little worried when I told them I lived in the Jordaan. My mom first lived on the third floor and then moved to the ground floor. She got her house fully furnished from the landlord. He was happy someone wanted to live there”, according to Tineke. Jacqueline remembers she paid only €75 per month for her first apartment at the Laurierstraat. “Things changed over time and also the way people live together has been changed. Luckily we can find that in our shop. We’re having a good time together, we’re like the Golden Girls.”

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

Ineke, who has a degree in Art History, has been living at the Prinsengracht since 1998, together with her husband Andries. From her living room she can see the Elandsgracht. She visits the Elandsgracht on a regular basis. This time to get rid of the plastic she separates from the trash. Afterwards she’s going to visit a few galleries. Ineke studied in Leiden and at the Rietveld Academie where she focused on typographic design. “But writing is actually what I enjoy the most and hope to continue doing for a long time to come.” She wrote articles for different magazines on various subjects. For interviews with artists she travelled through the Netherlands, but also in the neighbourhood she finds inspiring people and subjects to write about. Like at gallery Koudijs at the Elandsgracht or gallery Bart. “When Bart just opened his gallery, I was attracted by ceramics in the window. I walked in to ask about it and met with the owner and his team. Young people with a good sense for art in the neighbourhood. That adds to the atmosphere.” Ineke is also positive about the mix of shops at the Elandsgracht. She likes cooking, but she also likes to go out for dinner with her husband. Favourites include Rakang Thai or a delicious three-course menu at Balthazar’s Kitchen.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts

Josif was born in Eritrea and has been living in the Netherlands since 2009. The suppression and never ending military service made him decide to flea his country. After staying in an asylum seekers centre close to Leeuwarden, he came to Amsterdam where Vluchtelingenwerk helps him building a new life. Twice a week you can find him in the Claverhuys at the Elandsgracht where he follows a language course. Josif likes to walk through Amsterdam, and he perfectly knows to find his way from his house in West to the Elandsgracht. He loves the Jordaan area, especially the markets on Monday at the Westerstraat and the Noordermarkt. He also discovered the different courtyards, being peaceful oasis in the city. Peace and reflection he can also find in the Eritrean church. Josif is happy to be able to built a new life here and he gets amazed every day. “Living in the Netherlands is so much different. In the beginning I really had to get used to the culture, but it’s getting easier.” Josif dreams of a job in logistics or transportation. For instance he would like to work as a truck driver and driving through the country. But first he wants to learn the Dutch language and get a diploma for transportation.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts