History of the Building
The Lloyd Hotel is located at the Oostelijke Handelskade. This is a two kilometres long island, constructed in 1875 when sailing ships were being replaced by increasingly bigger steamboats. The many warehouses at the Oostelijke Handelskade were named after the countries one was sailing to: Brazil, Panama, Argentina et cetera.
This is where the "De Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd" (KHL) had its headquarters located. The company transported a large number of emigrants from Europe to the Americas. Many of them were extremely poor people trying to escape poverty in Eastern Europe by rebuilding a new life elsewhere. During World War I the "Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd" company assigned the architect Evert Breman to design an emigrant's hotel. With this facility the shipping company held a winning card in order to compete with other passenger shipping companies. While the emigrants were waiting to board one of the enormous passenger ships of the KHL, the necessary medical check-ups and disinfections could take place at the hotel.
1921 - 1935: emigrant's hotel
In 1921 the emigrant's hotel of the "Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd" opened its doors. It was built right before the "Amsterdamse School" reached its peak. The decorative brickwork of that style has been used for the building. Other than that the building has an eclectic style, with art-deco and even renaissance elements.
It had been built for eternity, but already after only fourteen years it was over: emigration had not taken off the way the KHL had hoped for. In the twenties the company was in great distress a couple of times. Financial aid by the government and the city was endowed to help the KHL survive. It only helped for a short time: in 1935 the "Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd" had to file for bankruptcy.
For more historical information on the building, read this article
This is the office for 3rd class passengers. It is still intact (except for the desks!), and here we can dance in the early, more intimate hours of the night/morning