Blankenstraat 2, municipal monument building in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Blankenstraat 2 is a municipal monument building in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with a simple brick facade and a roof that resembles a chalet. Wide dormer windows on the top floor bring natural light into the structure, and a stone angel sculpture stands on an overhanging part of the roof.

The building was constructed in 1952 after a fire in 1938 damaged a former oil factory on the site. Architects Marius Duintjer and G. J. Langhout designed it as a neighborhood center for the local church, and the city later granted it municipal monument status in 2005.

Local residents know the building as De Engel, or The Angel, because of the stone sculpture fixed to a roof overhang. The angel has six wings, and this name is still used in the neighborhood even though the space now operates as a childcare center.

The building stands at the corner of Blankenstraat and Tweede Coehoornstraat, near the Oostelijke Eilanden, so it is easy to reach on foot from the surrounding streets. The facade opens toward the sidewalk and the pavement is flat, which makes viewing the exterior straightforward for most visitors.

Before the angel sculpture was added, the space was called Oosterkapel, or East chapel, when services moved here from the unsafe Oosterkerk church. Later it became a Moroccan cultural center, a role that is often left out of quick histories of the building.