The White House and the Old Harbour in Rotterdam. by Don Fonzarelli

About "The White House and the Old Harbour in Rotterdam."

by Don Fonzarelli

About the artwork

The White House and the Old Harbour in Rotterdam. The White House is the name of a building in Rotterdam that for a time was the tallest office building in Europe. It survived the Bombing of Rotterdam in 1940, in the 1990s it was restored to its original state (facades and roof) as much as possible. It was Rotterdam's first skyscraper and is also considered by some to be the first skyscraper in Europe (although that title is usually given to the Boerentoren in Antwerp). It is among the Top 100 Dutch UNESCO monuments. At the end of the 19th century, the architect Willem Molenbroek designed an 11-storey building, an unprecedented height in Europe for the time. Sceptics claimed that Rotterdam's weak soil would not be able to adequately support the building. After all, the tower of St Laurenskerk had once almost toppled over during a gust of wind! The contractor J.H. Stelwagen built the White House between 1897 and 1898 for 127,900 guilders, more expensive than the original plans. During construction, on 1 August 1897, due to ground action while driving the required piles, an adjacent building on the corner of Wijnhaven and Gelderse kade collapsed. This was further demolished and the released soil was used for the White House. Measuring 20 by 20 metres (instead of the planned 15 x 20 metres), 1,000 piles for the foundation were driven into the ground, wa