Amsterdam's Staalstraat. by Don Fonzarelli

About "Amsterdam's Staalstraat."

by Don Fonzarelli

About the artwork

Amsterdam's Staalstraat is a street in the city centre, connecting Kloveniersburgwal (near Nieuwe Doelenstraat) with Zwanenburgwal (near Waterlooplein). Staalstraat crosses Groenburgwal and Verversstraat joins Staalstraat.
One of the photographer's ancestors was registered as a blacksmith here at number 5.
The street, originally Swanenburgerstraat, was named after the Staalhof, located near the corner Staalstraat/Groenburgwal. The adjacent Saaihal was designed by Pieter de Keyser in 1641. The quality of samples from the cloth industry based in this neighbourhood was checked here by members of the Amsterdam Cloth Guild. Some of them were immortalised by Rembrandt in his 1662 painting The Staalmeesters.

In the 19th century, part of the Staalhof was converted into the Anglican (Episcopal) church, Christ Church, at Groenburgwal 42. The façade of the Saaihal on Staalstraat 7b was restored in 1919. It houses a shop of the design firm Droog Design.

During World War II, many Jewish residents of Staalstraat were deported to concentration camps and did not survive the war. As early as February 1941, during the first razzia's in the Jewish neighbourhood, residents on Staalstraat were taken away. In the process, the bridge at the corner of Staalstraat/Kloveniersburgwal was raised to seal off the neighbourhood. During the Hunger Winter (1944/1945), the abandoned houses were partly demolished by people looking for firewood.
Source wikipedia