The Jan Rodenpoortstoren, or "the Jan Rooden Tower-gate" was one of Amsterdam's defining towers up until the 19th century. The tower was architecturally significant due to its late renaissance belfry made of timber, slate and lead, built by Amsterdam's signature architect Hendrik de Keyser. In 1830 it was demolished with the similar Haringpakkerstoren (the Herring Packers' Tower) due to the city's lack of restoration funds. Read More...

Continued... The cosmetic trauma rendered to the city has been sorely lamented over the years and various attempts have been made to rebuild the towers. Now it

seems imminent that the Haringpakkerstoren will be reconstructed on it's original location by the old harbor. Whether the Jan Roodenpoortstoren can be rebuilt depends on various obstacles such as traffic issues, citizen obstructionism, financing and doubts as to its relative benefit. According to some reports, money is the least worry.

The renderings below were made from a computer model of the tower inserted into existing photographs.

Please visit another recent project: Vijzelgracht! A proposal for redredging a filled-in canal.

Todd van Hulzen, October 30, 2005