Art and History of the Rotterdam
Daniel Greenman
I obtained this information on the Rotterdam. I thought some of you might be
interested.
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ART AND HISTORY OF THE ss ROTTERDAM
Welcome aboard the ss Rotterdam, flagship of Holland America Line. She is
the fifth vessel to be christened ss Rotterdam, sharing in the illustrious
history of this noble line. Holland America Line was launched as
Nederiandsch Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij in the Netherlands over
100 years ago.
The original ss Rotterdam, which was also the first vessel of the line,
sailed on her maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York City on October
15th, 1872. The one-way voyage took 15 days. Made of iron, the ship was
powered by both sail and a single-screw engine with a speed of just over 10
knots. She carried 8 first class passengers and 380 steerage passengers,
along with 1,500 tons of cargo. Just 11 years later in 1883, the ss
Rotterdam was destroyed in a storm off the coast of Holland. Three years
later, the line bought a vessel named the British Empire, and rechristened
her the ss Rotterdam. The second ss Rotterdam was renamed Edam in 1897.
The third ss Rotterdam was commissioned from Britain's Harland & Wolff
Shipyard in 1897. It was a larger vessel weighing over 8,000 tons, with a
length of 483' and a 53' beam. It was the line's first twin-screw vessel.
The fourth ss Rotterdam, completed in 1908, was even larger. She had a
length 668' with a 77' beam and 24,149 gross tonnage. For many years this
handsome vessel was the largest in the Dutch Merchant Marine, and when
completed became the seventh largest vessel in the world. Carrying 520
passengers in first class, 555 in second class and 2,500 in steerage, this
vessel had a speed of 17 knots. She sailed continuously to North America,
but ceased her crossings from 1916 until 1918, when mines and unrestricted
U-boat attacks during World War 1, made the trip too dangerous. Sold to be
scraped in 1940.
There was not another ss Rotterdam in the fleet until September 13th, 1958
when the present Rotterdam was launched on the river Maas in the Netherlands.
Built as a "ship of state," she became the fifth vessel to carry the name of
Holland's chief port. Her Majesty Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
christened the new ship, which carries 1,100 passengers on 11 decks.
Cruising at a speed of more than 20 knots, she is four times longer, 20 times
heavier and twice as fast as the first ss Rotterdam. The original rope that
was used to raise the houseflag at the commission of the ship on August 20,
1959 can be found outside the Sky Room located on the Bridge Deck, next to
the tennis court.
The maiden voyage of the ss Rotterdam originated on September 3, 1959,
sailing from her home port of Rotterdam to New York. On board for the 8 day
journey was Princess Beatrix, twenty-one year daughter of Queen Juliana and
now Queen of the Netherlands. To add to the auspicious occasion of the
Princess’ visit, her arrival in New York coincided with the 350th anniversary
of explorer Henry Hudson sailing his ship, the Half Moon, into New York
harbor.
Since her maiden voyage, the ss Rotterdam has not only made countless North
American runs and various cruises but has also completed 28 World Cruises.
A tradition starting in 1938 continues with every Holland America Line ship
having an art collection on board. What makes the ss Rotterdam so unique is
the way the art was incorporated into the actual design of the ship. Unlike
the newer ships, there is extensive use of wood, mainly Bangkok teak and
Mahogany throughout the ship. This multi-million dollar collection of Dutch
art and sculpture highlights the Rotterdam's interior decorations.
When the ss Rotterdam originally sailed on its North Atlantic run, it was
separated into two classes: First and Tourist. Because of her ingenious
design, centered around the double staircase that was the inspiration of
Willem H. de Monchy, former joint President/Director of Holland America Line,
the ship's passengers were separated in more of a layered or horizontal
manner, instead of forward and aft restrictions, thus enabling all to enjoy
more freedom throughout the ship. Mr. de Monchy modeled the staircase in
conjunction with the elevators after the "secret" staircase in the Chateau de
Chambord in France. The walls along the grand staircase of the ss Rotterdam
are blue-tinted glass artistically decorated in magnificent abstract scenes
designed by artist W.J. Allertnans of Rotterdam. From the Boat Deck down to
the Upper Promenade Deck the panel represents the cosmos. Between the Upper
Promenade and Promenade Deck, they show birds in flight. The wind is
represented between the Promenade and Lower Promenade Decks.
If you look closely at the section between Lower Promenade Deck and Main Deck
you will notice the design of the actual ship as she sails through the sea.
Between the Main and A Deck, it is the ocean surf and from A to B Decks it is
a combination of water, flora and fauna.
In the Sky Room on the Bridge Deck the symbolic mural located in the center
of the room represents man's eternal quest to travel. This was originally a
"First Class only" lounge with its complement, the Sun Room "for Tourist
Class". Since 1989 this room is used as our Gymnasium and is one deck down
on Sun Deck.
The Upper Promenade Deck was also reserved for First Class, complete with its
own Purser's Office, beauty and barber shop. In the Ritz Carlton Ballroom,
probably the most elegant room aboard the ss Rotterdam, you will find a 90
foot mural representing the Aegean Sea. This beautiful work crafted on
lacquered teak was done by Cuno van den Steene, who came from Baam, Holland.
The pattern of the brass dance floor represents the sand at the bottom of
the ocean swept around by the tides. Notice the staircase with its brass and
enamel fish as they swim up and through the nets along the balcony.
The bronze has relief on the wall of the Smoking Room show figures from the
Far East, Ceylon, Crete, Turkey and China, as well as American Indian. This
piece was designed by Ms. Schuunnan-Henry of The Hague. The original carpet
was hand-woven in Holland and the patterns remains the same. The doors to
the Smoking Room are a design by C.W.L. Wirtz of Rotterdam, dominated by
actual fauna, insects and animal pressed in perspex and framed in bronze.
In the Library the teak mural by Mrs. N. Bouhuys-Klaassen of Zandvoort,
depicts a fisherman tending to his nets at the end of his day, while his wife
helps with his catch. This is an exceptionally good example of pointillism
and abstraction.
The Ambassador Lounge is a circular room built around a star-shaped dance
floor. Abstract murals face the two sides of the dance floor, one
representing air, with birds flying toward the light and the other represents
water, with fish, again drawn to the light. The artist is H. Hierck of The
Hague.
Famous Delft tiles and ceramics are centerpieces for much of the ss
Rotterdam's shipboard art. Just inside the main entrance to the Theater on
the Promenade Deck is a white porcelain mosaic in abstract form. Designed by
the famous Porcelain Bottle in Delft, it is simply titled "Life". The Queens
Lounge is just aft of the Theater. The marquetry muralled wall of soft gold
depicts in abstract fishermen's nets stretched out to dry in the sun. This
room is a radical departure from normal design because it is asymmetrical.
Around the kidney shaped dance floor the furniture is specially designed to
follow the pattern of the light fixtures above. The raised portion of the
lounge is separated by a curved railing of wood and wrought iron sculpted
into series of seven ladies, each in a different pose.
A bronze bust of former Queen Juliana, who reigned from 1948 to 1980 and
christened the ss Rotterdam, adorns the entrance to the Queens Lounge. One
of Holland's leading sculptors, Mr. Pieter de Monchy was commissioned to
create the regal piece. The statue was presented to the ss Rotterdam by the
builders of the ship, The Rotterdam Dry-dock Company.
Over the Casino fireplace (this room was originally called the Club Room),
are nine white carved wood panels representing erotic women from the
literature of Erasmus. Tapestries in the four comers of the room were
inspired by the legends of Ovidivus. Gisele van Waterschoot of Amsterdam is
the artist. You'll notice that the Casino Is decorated in an art deco style,
which was enjoying a revival at the time of the ship's design.
The Lido Restaurant was formally called the Cafe de la Paix, a Tourist Class
Lounge complete with bar and dance floor. It was changed in 1969 to the Lido
when the ship was refitted for cruise service. The handpainted tile is
Makkum porcelain from Friesland. In 1989 for the occasion of her thirtieth
anniversary, the ss Rotterdam underwent 15 million dollar refurbishment. The
Lido was again redesigned and now includes pastel and mixed media paintings
of Dutch life by M. Rees Marlatt, an American artist from the State of
Washington. The new planters are tiled in an updated pattern of the original
design.
On the Lower Promenade and A Decks, brass statuettes adorn the four comers of
the foyers. Each is a different character from Shakespeare's famous
shipwreck tale, THE TEMPEST. Also on the Lower Promenade Deck you will find
a two dimensional representation of the miniature village of Madurodam in the
Netherlands. Madurodam was built as a tribute to the concentration camp
victims of World War 11.
On the Main Deck, Holland's long links with the sea are shown on an antique
map. Hundreds of years old, it lists the names of the leading families of
Rotterdam, many connected with shipping and sailing.
In the La Fontaine Dining Room, named after the brilliant but absent-minded
artist/poet Jean de la Fontaine, artist Nico Nagler of Amsterdam has
recreated in Delft ceramic some of la Fontaine's better known stories and
rhymes as well as the fables by Aesop. Mr. Nagler's work can again be seen
in Delft ceramic in the Odyssey Dining Room, this time depicting scenes from
Homer's ODYSSEY. The ceilings in the both rooms are made up of ceramic
half-spheres and four-pointed stars.
We hope that you have enjoyed our unique collection of art and wish you a
very pleasant stay on board!