ARCADES PROJECT

De Passage in The Hague is a superb arcade with extraordinary high glass ceilings and three arms, all leading out from the central glass dome. The dome and two of those arms were built in 1885; the third arm in 1929.

The original foundation stone was laid a little four year old girl called Eliza, who must have got a bit of help on the day, judging by the size of the stone. There is also a brass plaque with details of the architects and the dates of their work. And there is a nice extract of some lines from 20^th century Dutch poet Gerrit Achterberg, who wrote about the sounds and other wonders of the arcade (but my language skills would not do justice to Achterberg’s eloquent Dutch).

There are beautiful stained glass windows above the shop fronts in the ‘Third Arm’; there are residential flats above many of the shops, with flower pots along the balcony at the arcade ends, and one shopkeeper spoke of enjoying some mornings spotting a resident still in pyjamas opening his curtains onto the arcade below.

The shops in De Passage are a real mix, from big brands like Apple and Nespresso to high-end independent businesses selling bags, clothes and beauty products, and then my favourite stores in the arcade: the wo bookshops, which are actually two branches of the same bookshop, one selling books in Dutch, the other in English. You can go upstairs in the Dutch one, where there is a table for reading, while the English branch has a beautiful (and original) spiral staircase.

Some have adapted their business to change with the times, so Hamilton used to focus on cigars and other tobacco products, but is now mainly a gift shop, with an impressive display of traditional clogs outside the shop; and Akkerman has gone from being the Netherlands’ unique fountain pen repairer to selling more up-to-date pens and stationery.

My pick of the arcade’s past

There is an excellent book on the arcade (on sale in the Dutch bookshop in the arcade only – not translated into English yet): Verhalen van De Passage (Stories of the Arcade).

This book speaks about the separation of classes, genders and age groups in the arcade. The upper classes would visit between 2pm and 4 or 5pm. Men would gravitate towards the café, while ladies tended to go to the milkbar; both were served by young girls from 15-25 years old, who themselves would come back to the arcade in the evenings, to wander, be seen, and maybe even find a boyfriend…

The ’Ladies Paradise’ was an early tenant, selling hats to women until it finally moved out of the arcade in 2000 after over 100 years. And for much of that time, hats were actually made on-site in the upstairs premises, the average hat taking about a day and a half to produce.

The Sadlers Wells ballet troupe were staying in the arcade hotel on 10 May 1940, when the war came to The Hague. Margot Fonteyn was just days away from her 21^st birthday, and was one of the dancers who heard that Rotterdam was ablaze, and machine-gun fire could be heard from the hotel. While most dancers made their escape, Fonteyn and three others tried to shelter, but in the end had to flee, leaving all their possessions behind as they made their way home. German troops marched in six days later; they occupied the hotel for the next five years.

The longest-lasting shops in the arcade’s history were the stamp shop of Mr Keiser for 121 years, closing in 2018 – he began at No 12, but moved to No 25; the jeweller’s Rond stayed in the arcade for 114 years before closing in 2014 (Nos 16 and 18); Akkerman the stationer’s added fountain pens when they made their way to Holland from England and America – he has been in business for 114 years so far a No 12: he became famous as Holland’s only Fountain Pen doctor, repairing broken pens.

One of the arcade cafes used to bring together The Hague’s community of artists. Van Gogh lived in the Dutch capital only from 1881-83, so before the arcade was built, and he was not well-known at the time. In 1892, in the arcade café, the first ever exhibition of all his works to-date was held in the arcade café. This café was also one of the first to open its doors to women, and the arcade book has a wonderful photo from 1901, in which two women are playing guitar, as the men play some sort of artists’ game in the room over the café.

This arcade in films or books

The arcade itself published a beautiful book on its own 135 years (in 2020). ‘Verhalen van de Passage’ can be bought in the arcade bookshop.

Other than that, I need help here. Surely a Dutch film has been made in De Passage, but there are so few Dutch films that get released in the English-speaking world.

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

My favourite shop in the arcade?

This is a tricky one. I love the history of the fountain pen shop Akkerman, which now sells stationery, and the gift shop with its clogs outside, but purely for personal interest I loved the bookshops. I spent more time in the English language one, but my main purchase was the book in Dutch on the arcade itself.

Is there a website for this arcade?

Yes, there is a a very good website, with information on existing businesses, great snippets of history, and information on occasional tours of the arcade, which I’d love to do one day. Here is the link to De Passage website.