American Hotel - Table of Contents ..............Architecture Around the World
American Hotel
97 Leidsekade, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The original hotel
Leidsplein was fast becoming a fashionable entertainment area when the American Hotel was built overlooking it in 1882. The hotel got its name because its architect, W. Steinigeweg, studied hotel design in the United States, and adorned his Neo-Gothic (Gothic Revival) creation with a bronze eagle, wooden figures of native Indians, and murals of American landscapes. Within 20 years it was deemed "passé" and the hotel was demolished.The present hotel
The present building is by Willem Kromhout (1864-1940) and was completed in 1902. His design marked a radical departure, interpreting the Art Nouveau style in an angular Dutch fashion. The building's turreted exterior and elaborate brickwork anticipated the progressive Amsterdam School.
The Art Deco-style Café Americain is one of the most elegant in Amsterdam. It retains its period furnishings and stained-glass windows.The rest of the hotel was redecorated in the 1980s. Samples of the original furnishings are in the Rijksmuseum.
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Art Nouveau style in an angular Dutch fashion |
The building's turreted exterior and elaborate brickwork anticipated the progressive Amsterdam School. |
The building's turreted exterior and elaborate brickwork anticipated the progressive Amsterdam School. |
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Detail - Corbels |
Detail - Corbels |
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The Art Deco-style Café Americain |
The Art Deco-style Café Americain |
