{"id":1349,"date":"2026-06-26T09:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/programma\/amsterdam-nearly-demolished\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T07:52:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:52:01","slug":"amsterdam-nearly-demolished","status":"publish","type":"tentoonstelling","link":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/programma\/amsterdam-nearly-demolished\/","title":{"rendered":"Amsterdam, Nearly Demolished"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Modern city of glass and steel<\/h3>\n\n

Imagine: the canal houses, narrow streets, and squares of Amsterdam’s city center replaced by a modern city of glass and steel. In the 20th century, this scenario truly seemed like it would happen. And for good reason, as the city center was in a state of decay at the time. There was a plan to replace old neighborhoods with modern districts featuring wide highways and large office buildings. For example, the Museum of the Canals at Herengracht 386 would not have existed if all the plans for traffic thoroughfares had gone ahead. <\/p>\n\n

Taking action<\/h3>\n\n

Fortunately, things turned out differently. Amsterdammers took action; local residents, artists, and heritage enthusiasts fought throughout the twentieth century to preserve their city. This exhibition takes you through the story of threatened demolition, fierce protests, and ultimately, a complete restoration. Discover how Amsterdammers saved their city and why we can still enjoy it every day. In addition, never-before-seen archival photos, unique drawings, maps, and protest posters are on display. <\/p>\n\n

In-depth story<\/h3>\n\n

The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Association of Friends of the Amsterdam City Center. The book of the same name will be published in early 2026 and serves as an expansion of the stories from the exhibition. <\/p>\n\n

\n
\"\"
Trail of destruction through the Nieuwmarkt neighborhood: route of the four-lane highway and the East Line of the metro, aerial photo from the City of Amsterdam from 1977, Photo by G. Jaeger,Collection Nieuwe Instituut\/ BOSC, f69<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Architectural drawing Herenstraat 10-18c, 1967\/69, Stadsherstel, Building Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1440,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1349","tentoonstelling","type-tentoonstelling","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tentoonstelling\/1349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tentoonstelling"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tentoonstelling"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grachten.museum\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}