When on a train between Voorlem and Beurs, through the smog of the city, and the smoke from the funnel, one might see a towering pillar rise high above the city. Distinguishable by its red roof and white paint. Everyone in the city knows about it; a building that was of lavish prestige and refined taste, where even the filthy rich used to gawk at its high class.
Beginnings
The city of Voorlem needed something to put them on the map. For years they had existed solely as a big city, but they never had a landmark. This changed in 1895 when Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of the 1893 World’s Fair pavilions was contracted to construct a new and grand building.
Construction began in June of 1896 and continued until 1898 due to railway housing being constructed (and demolished) nearby. When finished, its bright white paint stood out from the dingy, sooty and brown buildings surrounding it.
It was originally named Hotel Wilhelmina after the queen. However, due to its location in the slums, it didn’t turn a profit until 1905 after the railway housing was replaced by luxury housing estates and department stores, drawing in more guests.
Complaints & Upgrades
The hotel had existed peacefully up until the 1920s when construction of a railway bridge had begun in close proximity, despite their objections. Worse still, it wasn't until 1935 that every room had its own bathroom, being the subject of numerous complaints from unhappy guests.
At the same time, the Art Deco movement started springing up, with streamlined looks and little sharp edges becoming popular. The hotel closed for renovations, and reopened two years later with an updated interior, and renamed Streamlined Hotel.
In 1939, with the consequential outbreak of the second world war, things remained largely the same, until the German invasion.
New Management
When German forces entered Voorlem, the Streamlined Hotel was one of the first buildings they took. Key reasons for this were due to its proximity to the railway making for a strategic location, its size, and the fact that it could be easily turned into a command post.
With German flags flying from its rooftop, it was no longer the luxurious hotel it once was. German officers regularly held large parties inside, with staff having to unwillingly clean up after them. In 1943, when the Day of Bloodshed occurred, the hotel was set ablaze by the resistance movement in order to drive the Germans out. The fire went unchecked due to the chaos and hasty evacuation of the command staff.
They abandoned the hotel soon after and began searching for a new suitable base of operations. The charred remains of the hotel served as a temporary jail for captured resistance members after the uprising was suppressed. For some time after, the hotel was populated only by the homeless. In the winter of 1943, having been unsuccessful in finding a suitable command post, the Germans were forced to hastily (and shoddily) rebuild part of the hotel.
In 1945, with Allied forces closing in, German forces set fire to the hotel, and made a hasty retreat further east.
Conclusion
After the war, the original owners came back to see the hotel's charred and gutted remains. With a lack of funds making a renovation impossible, they were forced to buy cheap fittings, not even close to its pre-war self.
No longer the 5-star hotel it used to be, now merely a shell of its former self. What was once a pillar of grandeur and luxury, has now been reduced to no more than chipping paint, and crumbling shingles.