The Adventures of Lorie and Brian Groth

The basement entrance.

Yes, there are half-basements in Amsterdam, which means you probably live below water level. Not every building has them, but it’s pretty common to see these entrances. At the base of the building I work, the basement is used by a store that designs men’s short pants.

Street names of the corner buildings.

Most corners have signs for both street names posted, and when it’s not there you have to look around at the other corners.

Roof access.

Notice the ladder at the top of this building, which you can get to by crawling out of the window. How would you like to have to do that?

Ornate fronts.

Zoom into the front of this building and you’ll see all of the details and nice work that’s gone into it. Also, this is a large building, not the skinny houses, which is unique.

Ugly, or at least confused. architecture.

Yes, it happens. Not all homes on the canals look really nice; probably after a few remodels.

Multiple styles.

If you haven’t noticed by now, all different styles of houses get packed in together, although they’re generally all tall and skinny.

Matching rooflines.

These pictures are of the same building, or buildings, from two different sides. It could be considered one building, but it’s built as four independent buildings. At least that’s what it looks like from the outside. You never really know until you go into the building and discover the labyrinth.

Just about every street corner, and many of the streets, have shops or businesses on the ground floor. Living above a book shop would be OK, but not a restaurant!

I consider these to be front gardens. Many of the houses on canals will have a garden in the back, but a few maintain something in the front too.

Often when a big remodel happens on the canal houses, they keep a traditional look, but with nice clean lines.