25 Dreamlike Paintings of 19th-Century Dutch Towns and Cities

Self portrait as a firewood gatherer walking along a frozen canal.
Self-portrait as a firewood gatherer walking along a frozen canal.

Cornelis Springer (1817-1891) specialised in the arrangement and accurate representation of town scenes. His paintings were in such high demand that he had a two-year waiting list.

Raised in a family of architects and building contractors, he learned early to appreciate the beautiful buildings of Amsterdam.

Learning perspective drawing from his brother Hendrick—a professional architect—he completed his studies at the Amsterdam Academy of Fine Arts under instruction from Kaspar Karsen, a famous townscape painter.

Cornelis Springer’s beautiful scenes depict people going about day-to-day life—gathering at the fish market, unloading horse-drawn carts, merchants selling goods, or businessmen in conversation outside elegant canalside buildings.

With a keen eye for the social and economic activities that drive a city, Springer brings to life the beauty of Dutch architecture.

Altstadtmarkt in Brunswijk by Cornelis Springer
Altstadtmarkt in Brunswijk by Cornelis Springer
Zuiderhavendijk, Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1868
Zuiderhavendijk, Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1868
A View of a Town along the Rhine by Cornelis Springer
A View of a Town along the Rhine by Cornelis Springer
Altstadtmarkt in Brunswijk by Cornelis Springer
Altstadtmarkt in Brunswijk by Cornelis Springer
A View of Franeker with the Zakkend Ragerschuisje by Cornelis Springer
A View of Franeker with the Zakkend Ragerschuisje by Cornelis Springer
Cheese market with the Weigh house in Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1867
Cheese market with the Weigh house in Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1867
Cornelis Springer, The Gemeenlandshuis and the Old Church, Delft by Cornelis Springer, 1877
Cornelis Springer, The Gemeenlandshuis and the Old Church, Delft by Cornelis Springer, 1877
Village View by Cornelis Springer
Village View by Cornelis Springer
A View of the Delftse Vaart and Saint Laurens Church, Rotterdam by Cornelis Springer, 1840
A View of the Delftse Vaart and Saint Laurens Church, Rotterdam by Cornelis Springer, 1840
Figures on a Market Square in a Dutch Town by Cornelis Springer, 1843
Figures on a Market Square in a Dutch Town by Cornelis Springer, 1843
Study for View on Den Haag by Cornelis Springer
Study for View on Den Haag by Cornelis Springer
The town hall at Leiden by Cornelis Springer, 1870
The town hall at Leiden by Cornelis Springer, 1870
The Orphanage On The Hooglandse Kerkgracht, Leiden by Cornelis Springer
The Orphanage On The Hooglandse Kerkgracht, Leiden by Cornelis Springer
City View at Hoorn by Cornelis Springer
City View at Hoorn by Cornelis Springer
Market Oudewater by Cornelis Springer
Market Oudewater by Cornelis Springer
The bend in the Herengracht by Cornelis Springer, 1882
The bend in the Herengracht by Cornelis Springer, 1882
Walenkerk Haarlem by Cornelis Springer
Walenkerk Haarlem by Cornelis Springer
View of Montelspran by Cornelis Springer
View of Montelspran by Cornelis Springer
View on Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer
View on Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer
Voorburgwal in Amsterdam by Cornelis Springer
Voorburgwal in Amsterdam by Cornelis Springer
Many Figures On The Market Square In Front Of The Martinikirche, Braunschweig by Cornelis Springer
Many Figures On The Market Square In Front Of The Martinikirche, Braunschweig by Cornelis Springer
St. Michael Church in Zwolle by Cornelis Springer, 1862
St. Michael Church in Zwolle by Cornelis Springer, 1862
A view of the Staal Everspijp and the Grote Kerk in summer, Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1866
A view of the Staal Everspijp and the Grote Kerk in summer, Enkhuizen by Cornelis Springer, 1866
A View of the Delftse Vaart and Saint Laurens Church, Rotterdam by Cornelis Springer, 1840
A View of the Delftse Vaart and Saint Laurens Church, Rotterdam by Cornelis Springer, 1840
View behind the Grote Kerk in Naarden by Cornelis Springer
View behind the Grote Kerk in Naarden by Cornelis Springer

Abandoned Buildings — Stories Frozen in Time

History is literally dying all around us. Decay is nature’s process of creative destruction—destroying the old to make way for the new.

Andre Govia is on a mission. He is one of an intrepid group of urban explorers who photograph abandoned buildings. He captures moments that would otherwise slip into the mists of time, unnoticed, forgotten.

The people may have gone, but for now, the buildings live on to tell their stories.

Nature never sleeps. Soon enough, the buildings too will be gone. All that will remain are memories and Andre Govia’s photographs.

Listen to the haunting Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto as we explore these abandoned beauties.

What is the story of this room?
The piano and the music stand tell of a love affair with music. Once the room was filled with the sounds of music and laughter. Family and friends gathered round the piano to sing together.
The lady of the house loved to paint and her little girl loved to play with her pushchair.
There was joy, creativity, and shared happiness.

Happy childhood memories …

And what about this elegant room? How many guests were entertained here? How many times did the fireplace burn brightly on cold winter evenings? Did couples stand by the french windows at parties, sipping cocktails and gazing at the moonlit gardens?
The floor is bare, the paint peeled, but signs of its former glory remain.

Photo by Andre Govia.
Entertaining guests …

Ah what joy this room must have brought to the former family. Reading bedtime stories and watching patiently as their little one slipped into sleep.

Photo by Andre Govia.
Bedtime stories …

Persistent exposure to water causes plaster to gradually decay and soften until physical failure occurs. Leaks, damp, overgrown flora, and frost all provide ways for moisture to permeate buildings.

A major component in most historic buildings, timber is prone to attack from fungi and insects. Once rot sets in, repair costs often mean it’s cheaper to abandon the buildings altogether.

Photo by Andre Govia.
Decay is all around us …

Sadly, for every historic building that is restored, there must be hundreds that are left to wither and die.

Once upon a time, this abandoned cottage was a cozy family home.

Intimate details of its former life are apparent in the assortment of bottles on the dressing table, the photograph still hanging on the wall, the paraffin lamp, and bellows to help get a good fire going.

It was 12:25—as indicated by the clock on the mantlepiece—when time ran out in this room from the past.

Photo by Andre Govia.
Time stood still …

It’s not just old homes and mansions that are abandoned. This church has fallen into disrepair, making a very dangerous place to be.

Abandoned Church. Photo by Andre Govia.
High in the rafters …

Although Andre Govia and friends have years of experience in urban exploration, they have fallen through floors and broken limbs. They keep the locations secret to discourage unskilled adventure seekers.

Dinner is served. This abandoned manor house even has place settings for dinner service as if expecting guests to arrive at any moment.

You can almost hear the chatter as guests finish their cocktails and are shown to their seats by the Lady of the house.

Abandoned Manor House. Photo by Andre Govia.
Dinner at 8 …

A soft, filtered light enters through net curtains in this abandoned bedroom.

As if from a movie set, the vintage wheelchair, four-poster bed, and solid wood armoire add drama to this eerie scene.

A musty bedroom. Photo by Andre Govia.
The soft light from the window …
Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. —George Santayana.

Why does it matter what happened long ago?

History connects us with people and events through time. The lessons to be learned from studying those connections are profound.

A novel way to die? Photo by Andre Govia.
Reading into the past …

The complex cultures, traditions, and religions of the world were created over millennia. Understanding the linkages between past and present is to understand what it means to be human.

We are living history. We are all rooted in time.

Preserving our past provides a secure foundation for our future.

Photo by Andre Govia.
The grand stairway …
Photo by Andre Govia.
There was laughter. There was joy …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Shuttering away the past …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Even the light cannot enter …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Still standing proud …
Photo by Andre Govia.
The ghosts continue their conversations …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Crumbling walls of art …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Standing defiant and proud …
Photo by Andre Govia.
We played here too …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Underneath the arches …
Photo by Andre Govia.
Our daughter’s favorite doll …

Sources
Wikipedia.org, buildingconservation.com, history.ac.uk
Images reproduced with kind permission of Andre Govia.
Music: Rachmaninoff Concerto #2, 2nd Movement. (Contains Amazon affiliate link)

Redlands – A Victorian Jewel of the “Inland Empire”

Redlands, in San Bernardino County, is one of the oldest cities in California. Named for its rich, red soil, it sits halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, in the shadow of Southern California’s highest peaks.

This is citrus country, with lush groves and a temperate climate. Once called the “Orange Empire”, Redlands is now known as the “Jewel of the Inland Empire”.

Orange groves once covered the valley.

For almost 75 years, the city was the center of the largest navel orange producing region in the world. The navel orange became a symbol of the Eden-like dream that was Southern California.

During the 1937–38 growing season, the city produced over 4,200 railcars of navel oranges and 1,300 cars of Valencia oranges.

At the turn of the 20th century, Redlands was the “Palm Springs” of the next century, with roses being planted along many city thoroughfares.

People built their dream homes in whatever style they liked. Victorians sat alongside Colonials, Classic Boxes and Craftsmen homes.

Although many old homes were pulled down over the years, Redlands still has some beautiful late Victorians such as the Kimberly Crest House, The Edwards Mansion, and the Morey Mansion.

Kimberly Crest House and Gardens is a French château-style Victorian mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Later purchased by J. Alfred Kimberly of Kimberly-Clark fame, the Kimberly Crest House was originally built by Cornelia Ann Jordan, who came from a wealthy east coast family.

When tuberculosis took the lives of her husband and four of her six daughters, she moved to California to try to rebuild her life. She purchased 3 1/2 acres and had this beautiful home built—styled after a château she had seen in France.

Kimberly Crest House and Gardens.

There were no mortgages in those days. People simply announced to the world that they had arrived by building their houses when they had enough money and paying for them in cash. The owners of Victorian homes often painted them in bright and flashy colors to stand out from other wealthy neighbors.

Built in 1890, the Morey Mansion was built using the funds from the sale of Sarah Morey’s citrus nursery.

Sarah Morey moved to Redlands in 1882 with her husband David, who worked as a carpenter and helped built the dam at Big Bear Lake. With seeds from local growers, Sarah started a citrus nursery which became one of the largest in the area.

Located on the bluffs overlooking San Timoteo Canyon, Morey Mansion is known for its commanding view.

Morey Mansion
Inside the Morey Mansion.

In 1890, one of the founders of Redlands, James S. Edwards built a boarding house, which later became his family residence.

It is now a popular wedding location.

The Edwards Mansion

Built by Charles Kendall Adams, who lived in the house only 13 days before he died in July 1902, Kendall House (below) has block walls fashioned of stone by Italian stone masons.

Adams was an American educator and historian. He served as the second president of Cornell University from 1885 until 1892, and as president of the University of Wisconsin from 1892 until 1901.

Kendall House

Dr. Benjamin Barton built the Barton Mansion (below) originally as a ranch and vineyard. Recently restored to its former glory, it is one of the oldest buildings in the Inland Empire. Neglected for many years, it developed a reputation for being haunted.

Barton Mansion

Other great buildings include the A. K. Smiley Public Library. Built by philanthropist Albert K. Smiley in 1898, it includes a variety of architectural styles. The tile roof and parapets atop its side arcades are Mission Revival-influenced, whereas the battlement and curves in the parapet are of a Moorish design. Still more styles are evident in the arcade’s arches, the windows, and the roof ridge, which have classical, Gothic, Spanish Romanesque, and Oriental elements.

The library houses a collection of native tribe artifacts donated by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.

A. K. Smiley Public Library in 1900 (top) and today (showing extension)

Another great building is the Redlands train station, designed in 1909 by architect Arthur Brown, Jr., who designed many of San Francisco’s prominent buildings such as the City Hall, War Memorial Opera House and Coit Tower.

With pristine neighborhoods and dramatic mountain backdrops, the Santa Fe Railroad operated excursion trains along a route through the Redland orange groves, across the Santa Ana River, and back into San Bernardino, advertising it as the “Kite Route” due to its shape.

Redland Train Station in 1909 (top) and today.

 Fine building continues to this day, mostly of the residential variety.

Architectural Styles of Victorian Homes: a 5-Minute Guide

Victorian architecture is characterized by an eclecticism that moves from one building or part of a building to the other, describing features and influences and sometimes even redefining trends.

An example from the United States is the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California, once the home of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester.

The architectural curiosities and numerous oddities like doors or stairs to nowhere, windows into other rooms, and stairs with odd-sized risers, are typical of the Victorian search for identity.

Names and phrases characteristic of periods or countries were often used to describe and label the multiple architectural styles or influences—Renaissance, Gothic, Corinthian, Tudor-Elizabethan, Baroque, Tuscan, Moorish—as Victorians searched in vain for a style that defined the age.

Harlaxton Manor in Lincolnshire, England, combines elements of Jacobean and Elizabethan with symmetrical Baroque.

Victorians had eccentric and sometimes exotic tastes. They loved what became known as “bric-a-brac”—small decorative objects of ornamental or sentimental value—that helped define the image of English coziness and charm.

Perhaps this helps explain the elaborate decoration in unexpected places like Victorian sewer systems, public lavatories, or post boxes.

In London, Victorian hopes and utopian ideas melded with social and moral desperation—Booth’s Salvation Army on the one hand and the depravity of East End slums and Jack the Ripper on the other.

This melting pot of ideas was reflected in Victorian architectural styles across the world from the romanticism evoked by Queen Anne and Italianate to the more austere Gothic Revival. Here are six of the most popular styles:

Queen Anne

Rooted in the English Queen Anne style, named after the monarch reigning from 1702 – 1714, the American Queen Anne loosely describes a range of picturesque, romantic buildings featuring textured surfaces, decorative patterns of wood or stone, and rainbow pastel colors. Other features include polygonal towers, overhanging eaves, balconies, pedimented porches, and painted balustrades.

Charles and Anna Drain House, Drain, Oregon. Credit Visitor7
Charles and Anna Drain House, Drain, Oregon. Credit Visitor7

Italianate

Inspired by villas in Northern Italy. Characteristics include rectangular massing of the body, low-pitched roofs with elaborately carved supporting brackets under the eaves, and windows with elaborate surrounds.

Robert Patrick Fitzgerald House, WI. Credit James Steakley
Robert Patrick Fitzgerald House, WI. Credit James Steakley

Stick/Eastlake

A transitional style between Gothic Revival and Queen Anne, featuring small planks placed on top of exterior walls. Sometimes has an overhanging second-story porch similar to a Swiss chalet. Examples with additional decoration near the top of the house are called Eastlake—after British furniture designer Charles Eastlake.

The Ann Starrett Mansion, Port Townsend, Washington. Credit A. Davey
The Ann Starrett Mansion, Port Townsend, Washington. Credit A. Davey

Folk

In contrast to other styles that were designed by professional architects for the monied classes, Folk Victorian was common among the aspiring middle class, who designed their own houses or had a local carpenter do it. They combined elements from fashionable styles with some unique ideas and tended to be smaller and plainer than those of the wealthy.

Late 1860s Folk Victorian, Prince William County, VA. Credit Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD
Late 1860s Folk Victorian, Prince William County, VA. Credit Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD

Second Empire

Distinguished by mansard roofs named after French architect Francois Mansart, with pierced dormer windows having elaborate surrounds. Victorians often added corner quoins, belt courses, and other decoration.

1884 Robison Mansion Second Empire, CO. Credit Jeffrey Beall
1884 Robison Mansion Second Empire, CO. Credit Jeffrey Beall

Gothic Revival

Inspired by Medieval Gothic cathedrals, characterized by steeply pitched roofs with vergeboard trim along edges, pointed-arch windows, high dormers, lancet windows, and vertical board and batten siding.

1850 Gothic Revival Victorian, Fredericktown, OH. Credit Nyttend
1850 Gothic Revival Victorian, Fredericktown, OH. Credit Nyttend

Picturesque

Picturesque architecture, popular in the later 19th century, combined elements from various styles to create a whimsical and romantic visual effect, which perfectly captures the essence of examples like the Gingerbread House in Savannah, Georgia, and the Wedding Cake House in Kennebunk, Maine.

Gingerbread House in Savannah. Credit Photoartel
Wedding Cake House, Kennebunk, Maine