Look west past Eye and theNDSM area, and you can see leftover cranes from Damen’s ship repair yard. This side of the IJ used to be the building site for our ocean’s giants. All that’s left now, on the former site of the Nederlandse Doken Scheepbouw Maatschappij (NDSM), are the old slipways, factory halls and crane tracks.

Artful takeover

To the east, near the Meeuwenlaan, lay the docks of ADM, the Amsterdam Dry Dock Company. Ships were repaired rebuilt and extended here until 1980, when the shipping industry revival had come to an end. Immediately after the last ADM workmen left, the site was occupied by the art gang of the Festival of Fools. The factory halls became theatres. Cafés and restaurants popped up. As many as 57,000 people enjoyed theatre at the former shipyard in May 1980.