2025/12/16 by Sophie van Ginneken · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research #Historical Art and Culture Studies #Travel Writing and Literature
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0963926825100540
openalex created_date 2025/12/16 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/16 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract This article discusses the changing tourist gaze on Amsterdam between the end of the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth century. Based on travel guidebooks, the article analyses the increasing appreciation of buildings through time as a result of the growth and spread of architectural knowledge. Two different types of architecture are analysed: historic buildings, such as seventeenth-century canal houses and former harbour districts (in this period framed as ‘heritage’), as well as new architecture: the social housing projects and public buildings that were built between the 1920s and 1940s. By examining how architectural narratives were conveyed by guidebook writers, as well as following the path of knowledge transfer from the architectural profession towards the guidebook industry, this article offers an overview of the mechanisms behind architectural storytelling which enriches the understanding of sightseeing processes.