Panama
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Address | Oostelijke Handelskade 4 |
Neighbourhood | Oostelijk Havengebied |
City | Amsterdam |
Architect | B. de Greef, W. Springer; verbouwing VASD ontwerpers |
More | R. van Brenkelen (BMZ), Getuigen van een wereld die verdween, monumenten van bedrijf en techniek in Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1996 |
Realized | 1885 |
Category | Infra, Leisure |
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Entertainment venue in a former power stationThis building on Oostelijke Handelskade has been the home of the cultural entertainment centre Club Panama, a combined theatre, club, restaurant and studio, since March 2001. The building originally operated as a hydraulic power station which powered the harbour cranes ranked along Oostelijke Handelkade. This quay was a centre of Amsterdam’s harbour activities from its construction in 1875 until after the Second World War. The harbour power station was built in an eclectic style with neo-Gothic influences in 1885. The facade is executed in red brick with alternating bands of natural stone. It is also decorated with a frieze of round arcading and decorative brickwork. Internally, the building has an exposed roof structure with steel Polonceau trusses. The hydraulic system of the power station was replaced by a direct current generator in 1899, after which it functioned as an electric power station. A new wing was added for this purpose on the south side of the power station in a style matching that of the existing building. |