Building Astoria is a monumental Jugendstil building at Keizersgracht 174-176 in Amsterdam, built in 1904-1905 by order of, and as head office for, the First Dutch Life Insurance Bank. The building, on the corner of Keizersgracht and Leliegracht, later served as the headquarters of Greenpeace for 15 years. In 2001 it was designated a national monument.
With six floors and a maximum height of 37 metres, the Astoria building was one of the first office towers in the Netherlands. The building was designed by H.H. Baanders and Gerrit van Arkel. Both architects designed many buildings in Amsterdam in a for them typical sober, Dutch version of the Jugendstil, later to become known as the New Art.
The building has a copper-covered roof with a turret and a decorative iron ridge fence in which the golden letters EHLB (for Eerste Hollandsche Levensverzekerings Bank) are incorporated. The mosaic high on the facade shows a guardian angel with two other figures.
The building is part of the same block as the Anne Frank House.
I'm Jeroen, and I'll spare you the long introduction. ;) If you're looking for a landscape photo for your wall, you've come to the right place... Read more…