That left-wing politics is part of what makes Het Schip so cool: a "workers' palace", commissioned by a socialist housing association. They believed that working people deserved beautiful homes, with elaborate brickwork and thoughtful design -- not just somewhere cheap to sleep. I love taking visiting friends around Spaarndammerbuurt and into the museum.

https://www.hetschip.nl/en/visitors/locations-opening-hours/...

The museum is amazing, and the gift shop has treasures like this set of historical posters.

https://www.hetschip.nl/webshop/souvenirs/set-historische-po...

The top one, Wilhelmina Drupsteen's "De Vrouw 1813-1913", advertised an exhibition organized by the women's movement, including the campaign for voting rights. Dutch women wouldn't get the vote until 1919.

The front poster, Albert Hahn's "Stemt Rood!" ("Vote Red!"), shows a worker raising a pickaxe while pinning down an octopus representing capitalism and its evils. His boot is planted on a tentacle. The lettering names capitalism, anarchy, famine, the suffering of war, and food profiteering. Still painfully relevant issues today. Makes me picture the tentacles of Trump and his owners, Putin and Netanyahu, getting thoroughly stomped and pickaxed by progressives winning democratic elections, and how Iran resoundingly won Trump's war by causing regime change in the United States.

https://x.com/AmoneyResists/status/2118357108643234240

The gift shop doesn't carry the cardboard hats anymore, but I once got one modeled on Het Schip's phallic brick tower, like the Pope's mitre, only too tall to wear indoors.

https://wittebouw.nl/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Amsterdam_He...

They're repairing the wrought-iron "tree of life" on top of the tower, which was accidentally struck during maintenance:

https://www.facebook.com/MuseumHetSchip/posts/pfbid0HQDNrwXU...

>In early 2026, the exterior woodwork of Het Schip (the homes and museum) was painted. While scaffolding components were being hoisted into the courtyard, the tower's finial was struck, leaving it tilted. It took a while, but at the end of October the finial was finally removed for repair. The top is temporarily covered with plastic.

>Het Schip was designed by architect Michel de Klerk. The book "Een kunstwerk van baksteen" ("A Work of Art in Brick", 2018) describes the tower: "The tower can be seen as a characteristic Amsterdam School form. It enhanced the building's sculptural qualities and plays an important role in its overall appearance." Housing Department director Arie Keppler was rather surprised by the tower's presence: "There had occasionally been passing remarks about the lack of a tower in this part of the city. Imagine the astonishment when he unrolled his plan!"

Then we go to Grand Hotel Amrath in the former Scheepvaarthuis: Amsterdam School extravagance built for shipping companies rather than workers. They've let us explore the lobby, and you can rent the lavish historic meeting rooms. Look at the stained glass and woodwork, and don't miss the paternoster lift.

https://www.amrathamsterdam.com/en/information/history/the-s...

Cafe Batavia 1920 makes a great stop for a drink and lunch in another Amsterdam School building, if it's not overrun with obnoxious British football fans.

https://manchesterhistory.net/architecture/1920/batavia.html

And then Tuschinski, an extravagant mixture of Amsterdam School, Art Deco, and Jugendstil.

https://celluloidjunkie.com/2017/10/19/cinema-of-the-month-p...

There's also De Dageraad, the housing complex designed by Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer around P. L. Takstraat and Burgemeester Tellegenstraat. More beautiful homes for workers, commissioned by a socialist housing association.

https://items.amsterdamse-school.nl/details/objects/54

The best thing to do is to just ride a bike randomly around town all over the place, looking at the architecture and parks and canals. Here are a few of my recent rambling rides, including wandering around Spaarndammerbuurt and Het Schip, and flood filling every road in De Pijp:

https://ebike-safari.com/?lat=52.3905&lon=4.8737&zoom=16&rid...