What do we see?
It is a festive day on the Ferdinand Bolstraat. Today Prince Claus is coming to open the Okura Hotel, the first European hotel of this Japanese chain. In doing so, the Japanese are anticipating, among other things, the possible arrival of the National Opera in the immediate vicinity of the new hotel. Not everyone is jumping for joy today: a few demonstrators have gathered in front of the entrance, where in the background the first guests are already arriving. The concerned citizens from De Pijp (the neighbourhood just south of the centre) fear that the city council is only focusing on hotels and leisure, and is putting the building of homes in second place.
What is the news of the day?
Although it has not yet officially opened, Amsterdammers in Noord are invited to come and get acquainted with the largest branch of the Albert Heijn supermarket, on the Buikslotermeerplein. The supermarket chain is organising an open day that attracts the press, among others. In Het Parool you can read that people particularly appreciate the extensive frozen food and non-food departments and the exotic fruit garden.
What happened in the years that followed?
The hotel is of course still there, and the area around the Okura has since been further built up. The Opera never came, though, to the great disappointment of the Japanese, who tried to force its arrival through a court case. The Opera eventually ended up in the city centre together with the new city hall, now jointly known as the Stopera. We have written a nice article about that 'love story'!
