Grand Hotel Centraal (voormalig)

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Introduction

On the corner of Singel and Vijzelstraat and as a 'bridge' over the Reguliersdwarsstraat, erected between 1925 and 1929, a HOTEL with SHOPS on the ground floor, named Grand Hotel Centraal, designed in Amsterdam School style by G.J. Rutgers on behalf of N.V. Grand Hotel Centraal by director A. Leemhuis. The recessed upper structure was designed in 1928 and realised in 1928-1929 by G. van Arkel and H.J. Breman, likewise on behalf of N.V. Grand Hotel Centraal. The sculptural work is by Theo Vos.

N.B. This is the largest and most luxurious hotel of its time in the Netherlands. All rooms were equipped with a bathroom and telephone. From 1929 there was mention of the Carlton Hotel. During the war the hotel was requisitioned by the Luftgau Holland (the German air force in the Netherlands). On 27 April 1943 a British Halifax bomber crashed onto the hotel. The hotel was subsequently restored.

All original windows have been replaced by plastic.

Description
A hotel realised on a rectangular floor plan consisting of a fully basement storey, a ground floor behind a gallery with angularly lined arches containing shops and a lounge, a high intermediate storey with a dining and a conversation room and a large banqueting hall as a bridge over the Reguliersdwarsstraat, followed by four storeys with hotel rooms and a pronounced recessed top storey with technical facilities, staff rooms and the kitchen. The building is covered by flat roofs with straight gable terminations. The load-bearing structure is of reinforced concrete and clad with red brickwork with inlaid grey granite at the arches of the gallery. The gallery is supported by heavy piers tapering downwards. At the rear of the building on the Singel side there is a blunt tower tapering upwards, provided at the corners with pilasters with natural stone decorations. The building is provided at the corners with heavy chamfered pilasters, provided at the top with natural stone, and sculptural work at the corner of Vijzelstraat and Singel. The storeys with hotel rooms are provided with triangular bays between which diagonally placed pilasters - sometimes of brick, sometimes of natural stone with abstract sculptural work.

The (recent) main entrance is located on Vijzelstraat with a second entrance (likewise recent) for the restaurant on the short side on the Singel in the right bay. The intermediate storey is provided with deeply recessed window openings with large, pointed window openings for the fanlights. The spanning of the Reguliersdwarsstraat is emphasised in the architecture by the broad horizontal balcony and the inwardly placed bay storeys. Between the intermediate storey and the first storey sculptural work is placed. These are allegorical representations of world traffic and the continents. On the short gable side two sculptures representing America (left) and Europe (right). On the Vijzelstraat side successively Africa, Asia and Australia (the latter now missing). The names of the continents are chiselled in the plinth. Between these small animal heads on square plinths in which heraldic shields are chiselled. The rear facade is provided with pilasters between which diagonally placed bay windows with small window openings.

Valuation

Hotel of general importance due to its architectural historical value. Likewise of cultural historical value as a particular expression of a typological development. Also of importance due to the high-quality standard of the building and the historical-spatial relationship with the surroundings.