Rotterdam’s New Waterway: The Iconification of an Infrastructure (1860-1947)

Hilde Sennema; PT (Paul) van de Laar

doi:10.6092/issn.2612-0496/12389

Rotterdam’s New Waterway: The Iconification of an Infrastructure (1860-1947)

Hilde Sennema, PT (Paul) van de Laar

Department of History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

The New Waterway (dug between 1863-1872) brought the port city region of Rotterdam unprecedented growth. Whereas it is a national engineering feat, the Waterway and its creator, Pieter Caland, were appropriated as icons of the progress of the city of Rotterdam by the start of the 20th century. In this paper, we analyze four examples of this iconification: the monument for Caland (1906), the Diorama of the Waterway for the World Expo in Antwerp (1930), and two theatrical plays (1941 and 1947) expressing the Waterway’s meaning during and after the Second World War. We argue that these esthetic and public expressions
are crucial elements in Rotterdam’s narrative of progress, modernism, and resilience. The symbolic meaning of the New Waterway transcended even the technological significance of port-related infrastructure. In that sense, the Waterway became a convincing metaphor of hope and economic development for a port-city region.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	77-94
Number of pages	18
Journal	European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes
Volume	4
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2612-0496/12389
Publication status	Published - 2 Aug 2021

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Cite this

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Rotterdam’s New Waterway: The Iconification of an Infrastructure (1860-1947)

Abstract

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