A neighbourhood like a well-oiled machine
Once upon a time Hoogkwartier was a real district for automobiles – an industrial network. Van Geest is one of the last remaining garages.
- Stories
Stories
It’s like a village back here, so quiet.
Anja Stuiver and Rien Dane feel like real Rotterdam residents, and they’ve seen the the city centre gradually grow in density around them.
- Stories
Living in Wereldhaven
Wereldhaven is a remarkable neighbourhood. The former NAI chief guard sees the place, built for young families, as a small village.
- Stories
Eight to a balcony
Mr and Mrs de Bruin have been living on Hoogstraat for almost fifty years. There were times when eight of them gathered on the balcony in the evening.
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Department stores as playgrounds
Barry grew up in the city centre. The city was a paradise for playing. Department stores were his playgrounds, and vacant sites were perfect for Sledge rides.
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Stories from the local pub: “absolutely authentic Rotterdam”
Various neighbourhood residents reminisce in a local pub about the Hoogkwartier district. About the bull that ran riot at the Cattle Market.
- Stories
Getting soaked in front of the Savoy
The Van Wijk brothers talk about the youth in the Hoogkwartier district. They built rafts to use on the big puddles that formed in old bomb craters.
- Stories
From the ‘rubble’ to the chrome
On the site now occupied by the Market Hall, the sons of Jan van Wingerden used to dig for treasure. The open tracts of city were called ‘the rubble’.
- Stories