Gerard Doustraat 220, Building in De Pijp, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Gerard Doustraat 220 is a municipal monument building in the De Pijp district of Amsterdam. It sits among row houses but shows a reddish-orange brick facade with yellow accents and a stepped roofline that echoes older Dutch house shapes.

The city’s public works department designed the building in the late 1800s as a school for girls, originally called the Sweelinck school. Before World War I it temporarily housed soldiers, and later it became a social service office, then a dental practice, before turning into a language school.

Locals still know the building as an old school for girls from wealthier families, and some older residents remember attending classes there. Today its former social service office and dental practice are part of the street’s everyday memory, while students pass through for language lessons.

Walk along Gerard Doustraat and look for the bright facade with small stepped gables; the building stands almost straight, unlike some neighboring houses that lean. You can view it easily from the sidewalk, and the surrounding streets have shops and cafes if you want to take a break nearby.

A small plaque on the wall carries a quote by the writer Frans Erens about the straight and simple design of the street and its homes. The building also sits next to a former bathhouse that was added at the back of the structure.