Street Furniture in Amsterdam

amsterdammertje
Through centuries all types of socalled anti-parking poles are used to make the public spaces more safe by blocking off parts of the streets for carts, carriages and cars. It is only since around 1972 that the little pole with its 3 crosses is introduced by the Amsterdam city council. The reason for it was that wrongly parking on sidewalks was completely out of control.

After more than 25 years this international known little pole will largely disappear: the city hopes to restrain the parking nuisance by means of handhaving (= maintaining the law). However, not all the citizens have a strong faith in that.

Amsterdammertje
dogshit
& flowers

street lantern
Since 1669 the whole city has streetlanterns, on poles or hanging off ornamental hooks. At the end of the nineteenth century the (in those days gas) lanterns were fitted on top with an emperors crown, the socalled kroonlantaarn (crown lantern). In the last seventies all of these lanterns have been changed into a very simple plastic model due to constant vandalism. Thanks to the effort of some enthousiast Amsterdam citizens this deplorable cheap piece of design will be replaced - at least in the inner city - by a replica of the former crown lantern. The first results can be seen around the Westertower and Herenmarkt.

At the end of June 2003 two lantern poles along the Singel were provided for an evening with test lanterns to look at the light patterns. For more see my page about the test lanterns.

authentic poles with cheap
seventies plastic cap

toilets
The few public modern toilets are hard to find in Amsterdam. However, for the masculines among us we have 28 old fashion krul free public toilets, named after their curly (krul) shape. Kept as traditional gay meeting places (according to the city council!?!). For more "krullen" click some day on the urinior (notice the civil servants spelling!).

krul
urinior
meer krullen
or urinoir