What do we see?
We are looking down on the Zuidas from one of the six tall office towers of the Mahler 4 project. We see the A10 Zuid and the railway station that was then still known as Amsterdam Zuid WTC. On the right a metro train is also visible in the old GVB colour scheme: white, red and blue. It is March 2004 and the Zuidas is in full development. Construction work on the station is visible in the photo. An underground bicycle garage is being built and a passage with small shops is on its way.
What was the news of the day?
Today is the day of the municipal elections. The PvdA and the VVD lose a lot of seats in this election. D66, the SP and the local parties are the winners this round. In Amsterdam the PvdA is no longer the largest party for the first time in many years; that honour goes to D66. The turnout is just 53%, a historic low.
What happened in the years that followed?
The Zuidas kept on growing. The project from which the photo was taken was completed in 2009. The Gustav Mahlerlaan was further built up and Station Zuid continued to grow. Homes, restaurants and a supermarket arrived. In 2018 the North/South metro line was completed and plans emerged to put the A10 Zuid in a tunnel.
