THE HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE
Generations of Rotterdam residents walked into the Main Post Office on Coolsingel to send letters, receive telegrams, or take care of business. For years, the building was known as a place where there was always something going on, and it became one of Rotterdam’s most famous buildings.
The Post Office on Coolsingel, 1971
The post office was built between 1915 and 1923 and was designed by Gustav Cornelis Bremer. The post office features an eclectic style with classicist and Art Deco elements. The building is richly decorated with reliefs, decorative stonework, and wrought ironwork.
Along with City Hall and the Stock Exchange Building, this building is one of the few historic structures on Coolsingel that survived the 1940 bombing.
Although the south facade was hit during the bombing, no fire broke out, so the damage was somewhat limited. As a result, an iconic piece of Rotterdam’s past has been preserved—a building that has witnessed the city’s history and remains a landmark in the city center.
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
Starting in the 1980s, the post office gradually lost its original function. Postal and telephone services moved to other locations. In 2000, the building was designated a National Historic Landmark. Where thousands of people once came and went, it slowly grew quieter. Eventually, the post office closed its doors in 2008 and stood vacant until construction of POST Rotterdam began in 2021.
A NEW CHAPTER
Right in the heart of Rotterdam’s bustling city center, one of the city’s most iconic buildings awaits a new purpose: POST Rotterdam. A new chapter for a building that has been part of Rotterdam’s cityscape for generations.