Red Light District Now and Then: 10 Awesome Past and Present Pics
Posted on: december 21, 2015
Amsterdam’s Red Light District Now and Then
It’s amazing how things and people change through time. We explored how locations across Amsterdam looked in times gone by. Click on the pictures below to enlarge them. Let’s start off at Dam Square…
Amsterdam’s Dam Square & Damrak street. (click on the pic to enlarge it)
The picture above shows the most visited area of Holland’s capital: Dam Square and the Damrak street. It shows Amsterdam in 2015 and 1960. Since the early days of the city, this has been the main entrance of Amsterdam and it’s located just 5 minutes away from the famous Red Light District.
Amsterdam’s Warmoesstraat. (click on the pic to enlarge it)
View of the oldest street in Amsterdam: The Warmoes street in 1900. The building on the left is hotel Krasnapolsky – an exclusive hotel which was build in 1880. Between the year 1770 and 1811, this building used to be an exclusive brothel – also known as a Play House.
Red Light District Now and Then: The Old Church Square. (click on the pic to enlarge it)
Johannes Baptista Bickhoff took this photo of the Old Square in 1914. Some of the buildings in the Red Light District are still here to this very day, as can be seen in this picture. The houses on the left are a few centuries old and have witnessed quite a lot of events and changes.
This is one of the many highlights during our walking tours.
Red Light District Now and Then: Narrowest Alley. (click on the pic to enlarge it)
This is definitely one of our favorite historical photos of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. It was taken in 1968 by the talented photographer Elliott Erwitt, who took famous pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Fidel Castro and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Red Light District Now and Then: Oudezijds Voorburgwal. (click on the pic to enlarge it)
This is perhaps the most beautiful painting of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. It was painted in 1670 by the brilliant Dutch painter Jan van der Heyden – who lived in the Dutch Golden Age (17th century). He was an artist who painted very precisely – especially for that time. Van der Heyden wasn’t just a painter, he was also an inventor. He wrote history by inventing the first firehose and street lantern.
A brothel on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal street.
A view of the Red Light District on April 3rd 1984. A man with a leather jacket and hat walks next to a brothel where a prostitute is waiting for customers.
A street organ on the Oudezijds Achterburwal.
Same street, different time – most likely the 50’s. Some youngsters try to make some money by playing a street organ. Meanwhile, everyone continues their activities; A man lights his cigar, a guy cycles through the area and the youths are hanging around on their bikes. If you look closely you can see that Cafe Corso was already there in the 50’s and still to this day the cafe is around.
Red Light District Now and Then: Amsterdam’s Zeedijk street. (click on the picture to enlarge it)
This picture was taken on 28 November 1978. It shows The Sea Dyke street, one of Amsterdam’s oldest streets, located next to central station. Back then cars were allowed to park on this narrow street. The Sea Dyke is pretty filled with bars, restaurants, shops and whatnot. It’s also known as China Town.
Red Light District Now and Then: Zeedijk 46.
A lady is taking a siesta in front of Cafe Brabant which is nowadays a pizzeria and steakhouse. This pic was most likely taken in the 1960’s. During our walking tours we’ll pass by these beautiful locations in Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Book a tour and get shown around by a local.
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