THE WHITE HOUSE OF ROTTERDAM

100 YEARS “THE WHITE HOUSE”

Rise and fall of the gentlemen Van der Schuit

CHAPTER I

HURRAH, SOMEONE’S BIRTHDAY

It is Saturday night September 12, 1998 and we (my wife Joke and I) find ourselves in a big party tent on the festival ground near “The White House” in Rotterdam. “The Big Not To Avoid Orchestra” plays “Long life to him” and thanks the German Luftwaffe not having bombed “Het Witte Huis" (The White House) in 1940. The reader will not understand it right away but we are witnesses of one of the programs of the festival “The beating heart of Rotterdam” for the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Europe’s first skyscraper “The White House” at the Wijnhaven in Rotterdam.

Our presence in Rotterdam has everything to do with The White House and the principals to the construction of this striking building, namely my namesakes the brothers Gerardus Hendricus (Gerrit) and Hermanus Marinus (Herman) van der Schuit.

For some years I’m investigating everything related to this building and these gentlemen Van der Schui(j)t. For over a year I hadn’t much knowledge about these persons. I had knowledge of the following data:

The roots of the before mentioned Gerrit and Herman van der Schuit lay in an old bargeman generation of Werkendam. They are two of the many descendants of the Werkendam brushwood bargeman Johannes van der Schuit (1749-1814) and his wife Maria de Gelder (1754-1838). The married couple had eleven children of which four died young. Marked is that all five sons of Johannes and Maria became bargemen as well. One of these sons was Abraham van der Schuijt (1788-1868), the grandfather of our leading characters.

This Abraham left the village of Werkendam round 1810 and got into service as sailor with the “market skipper” Gerardus Hendrikus van Hemert of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. In 1817 Abraham marrys one of his employer’s daughters, Hermina van Hemert (1791-1871). Thanks to this marriage Abraham in 1822 had been appointed as one of the six skippers on the ferry between ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Rotterdam; in 1824 he even became sharer in the ‘s-Hertogenbossche Stoomboot Sociëteit. This society was in 1824 one of the first enterprises which received a license to maintain an interior ferry service (Rotterdam-‘s-Hertogenbosch vice versa).

Abraham and Hermina van Hemert had twelve children, of which four died young. Two of their children, Abraham and Johannes, made national name with their Steamship company J. & A. van der Schuit, established in Rotterdam and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Another son of Abraham and Hermina is Adrianus van de Schuijt (1830-1906), who in 1855 in Utrecht married Maria Strous (1831-1901). The family of Adrianus and Maria existed of nine children, of which one died young. Gerrit and Herman were born in Amsterdam on April 3, 1864 and May 30, 1867 respectively. Father Adrianus originally master blacksmith, but later switched to manufacturing steam engines. Furthermore he is mentioned as shipbuilding master and machine manufacturer. As from 1882 the family lived in Rotterdam, Oosterstraat 24-26.

Striking is that all children after birth were registered at the Registry of Birth with the family name Van der Schuit, while they later called themselves Van der Schuijt or even Van der Schuyt. A peculiar detail, but “what’s in a name” one could say.

Both Gerrit as Herman were known to me as merchants and partner of the “Handelsvennootschap G.H. van der Schuit & Co. established in Rotterdam. According to an announcement in the Gazette of 1895 the objective of the partnership in that year was changed into “practicing of all actions of trade as well internal as foreign”. With this kind of large aims one could go into all directions.

According to the Registry-Office Gerrit and Herman lived from August 6, 1897, together with their younger sister Maria Wilhelmina Magdalena (first name Marie) and Lamberta (first name Bertha) lived in a stately, newly-built property at the Avenue Concordia 70 in the district Kralingen in Rotterdam.

Articles in papers showed that Gerrit and Herman’s partnership didn’t always prosper, because on December 9, 1903 they asked the court of justice in Rotterdam extension of payment, which request was refused by the court. On December 21, 1903 the company and her individual members G.H. and H.M. van der Schuyt were declared bankrupt by the court of justice on account of the condition of the property. According to valuation the debt amounted to 2.140.000,= Dutch guilders, a not inconsiderable amount in those days. The bankrupt dossier shows it was an extensive property and the court of justice even appointed three trustees.

Belonging to the property – besides furniture and office inventory – were several real estates, mortgage bonds and shares in several enterprises, under which in security given shares in the “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. On account of the bankrupts the trustees also presented a bankruptcy petition against the steamship company “Maasland” and the “Company West-Varkenoord”, presumable also companies of Gerrit and Herman van der Schuijt. Finally the trustees on November 14, 1906 drew up a list of distribution and ended the bankruptcy. The creditors claimed in total the amount of 1.411.999,93 Dutch guilders, while the assets were only 8.633,14 Dutch guilders.

The shares in “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. were on February 10, 1904 with approval of the examining judge by the trustees transferred to the mortgagees Mol and Verhoeven in Tilburg. They had a claim on the firm of 269.511,16 Dutch guilders.

Concerning the value of these shares the examining judge in his register remarked the following: “From provided information it turns out that the shares have little or no value at all and that it is not likely they ever will get any value”

The causus of the enormous bankrupcy of Gerrit and Herman van der Schuijt remained obscure however. Marked however was that on December 01, 1903 also the bankruptcy was pronounced of the architect Willem Molenbroek, being the designer of “Het Witte Huis”. As result of the failure of their business Herman and Gerrit had to leave their dwelling Avenue Concordia in Kralingen. According to the Registry-Office they left Rotterdam on April 09, 1904 for ‘s-Gravenhage where they were registered on the address Groothertoginnelaan 137, where their elder brother Andries van de Schuijt from 1904 till 1908 was registered as export merchant.

The property Avenue Concordia 70 nowadays serves as hotel-boarding house “Barendregt” with 14 rooms.

According to a newspaper cutting Gerrit van der Schuijt died, 52 years old, Jyly 01, 1916 in Charlottenburg and apparently still single. His brother Herman left around 1910 to the Netherlands-Indies, started a new life and founded a family. Herman died March 21, 1945 in Batavia in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. He left behind three (recognized) children from a relation with Ong Tjap Nio.

Mid 1997 I realized that in September 1998 Het Witte Huis was built in order of Gerrit and Herman van der Schuijt exactly 100 years ago and that this event could get special attention. Till that moment I hardly knew anything about the building and the builders. Of the gentlemen Herman and Gerrit I didn’t own any picture and I never visited the building. I just had an old photograph of the building with on top the advertising of Van Nelle Koffie. Furthermore I knew that the building had been designed by one Willem Molenbroek and that it was built by the contractor Johannes Hendrikus Stelwagen for 127.900 Dutch guilders.

Reasons enough to do some inquiry for which I needed family members still alive. In the past I once was in contact with Heleen Lanlois van den Bergh from The Hague, granddaughter of Grada (first name Gerda) Maria Hermina van der Schuit, a younger sister of our Gerrit and Herman. Of this Heleen (born in 1937) I knew that she was interested in genealogy. In 1993 she provided me with the memoirs of the before mentioned Andries van der Schuijt about his experiences on Sumatra in the years 1893-1897.

In July 1997 I called this “aunt” Heleen, who appeared to have moved to the surroundings of Deventer where she, after her parents had died, went through all family papers in which she found several photographs of the Van der Schuijt family, on which also our Gerrit and Herman were found. Heleen was willing to welcome me and my wife, so we made an appointment to meet each other on the yearly book market of Deventer on Sunday August 03.

It turned out to be a special meeting. Heleen in her small car picked us up that day at the railway station of Deventer and took us to her private house situated on a country estate of several hectare of forest and cottages in one of them Heleen lived. After a drink and a snack on the terrace the family photo albums came out. Beautiful portraits of her grandparents (Gerda van der Schuijt and Max Langlois van den Bergh) and many pictures from the Netherlands Indies of our Herman, his kids and his brother Andries. Even a portrait of Gerrit van der Schuijt was produced on which could be seen that he had a handicap, namely a hump. Furthermore she knew that Gerrit spent the last years of his life in Paris.

Heleen was willing to give me the photographs in order to copy them. After some more drinks and snacks Heleen took us back to the Deventer railway station. What a piece of luck, thanks to Heleen we could form a picture of the leading characters of this story.

Meanwhile we searched on book markets and in bookshops for particulars about the building- and occupant history of “Het Witte Huis”. As in Hoorn where in a small bookshop my wife Joke wondered: “Maybe we find here something about Het Witte Huis”, Seconds later she swung with a booklet entitled “Op Het Witte Huis sta je hoger” (On The White House you stand higher). Asking price only five guilders, a bargain!

The booklet was written in 1978 by Freek Faro and Hans Verschoor in connection with a thorough renovation of the then 80 years old building by order of the owner of that time, the Westermeijer Groep. It turned out to be a beautiful booklet full of old pictures and illustrations of the 45 meter high and containing 10 stories. I found out that the construction of the building began in June 1897 and that the official opening took place in the presence of many dignitaries.

The architect Willem Molenbroek (1863-1922) and the contractor J.H. Stelwagen (1856-1918) get a chance in the book and their portraits of course are not missing. To my disappointment no portraits or particulars however about the initiators, just their names were mentioned G.H. and H.M. van der Schuyt, businessmen and founders of “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. To the writers of the booklet probably information about our leading characters was missing, even their first names and ages were not mentioned.

Until now several historians always assumed that the idea and design for the building of Het Witte Huis came from the architect Willem Molenbroek. However not only the initiative but also the idea and the model for the construction appear to come from Gerrit van der Schuijt. Further working out of the design is of course done by the brilliant Willem Molenbroek.

Some days before the publication of his book I had given Joris Boddaert the phone number of Gerrit van der Schuit, the 76 year old still living son of Herman van der Schuijt. Thanks to the telephonic information of this Gerrit Joris Boddaert got the knowledge that Gerrit’s uncle Gerrit had been in New York and that he there had got the idea to build a skyscraper in Rotterdam after the American example.

A short time ago I also spoke this “cousin” Gerrit and he told me the following: “I’m sure that my uncle Gerrit at the time has been in New York. He went there together with his brother Andries, another uncle of mine. Both my father and my uncle told me so”. Requested he continued “I furthermore heard from them that in the States family of ours must live but I don’t know any names. According to my father uncle Gerrit had great interest in architecture. After their bankruptcy my father and uncle Gerrit have lived in Paris for some time in the Rue des Poissonnières. They ran a commercial enterprise and did business with my uncle Andries; what kind of business I don’t know. My uncle Gerrit had a weak health and stayed a lot in a Kurhaus in Germany. My father Herman departed around 1910 from Paris to the Netherlands Indies, where I was born in 1922. My father was hard for himself, but a righteous man. I also knew my uncle Andries very well. He became accountant in 1922 and later head of the fibre enterprise “Mento Toelakan” in Solo on Mid-Java and died there from lung cancer in 1940; he has suffered terribly”.

Concerning Andries van der Schuijt (1859-1940) is known that he from 1893 till 1898 worked as technical assistant in North-Sumatra for the Royal Dutch Company for Exploitattion of Petroleum Wells in the Netherland-Indies and that he end 1894 with sick leave temporary went to Holland. Andries arrived around January 1895 in Rotterdam and left end June 1896 again for Sumatra.

In case Gerrit and Andries indeed did go to New York then this must have been in the period Andries was in Holland with sick leave, i.e. spring 1896. It is well-known that in those days ships frequently sailed from Rotterdam to New York. Unfortunately the Holland-Amerika Lijn passenger lists of this period were lost in the sixties, so impossible for us to consult.

(Gerardus Hendricus actually has been in New York. It appears that from a New York Passenger List of Ellis Island that on 2-21-1895 the 30 years old G.H. v.d.Schuyt with the s.s. “Majestic” has arrived in New York from Liverpool. The register contains no other Van der Schuyts so that must be assumed that Gerardus Hendricus travelled to the States on his own.)

In the book “Het Witte Huis 1898-1998” the question arises: “Which American building has been model for the design of Het Witte Huis?” As one of the possibilities is mentioned the “Netherland Hotel” in New York on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 59^th Street (built in 1892 and torn down in 1926). We now know that Gerrit van der Schuijt probably around 1895 has been in New York. Maybe he and his brother have stayed in the Netherland Hotel, who knows? Maybe Joris Boddaert unintentional has given us the answer to this question with his remark “The resemblance of the Netherland Hotel and Het Witte Huis is to such an extent striking that it is almost impossible to speak of accident”.

The remark “cousin” Gerrit van der Schuyt about the existence of American family members put me on another trace. In New York, on a stone’s throw of the Netherland Hotel, a Hendrik (Henry) van der Schuijt (1851-1910), a second cousin of our leading person, moved with his business enterprise into the new property Throop Avenue 178 in Brooklyn, New York. Of this Henry van der Schuijt is known that he emigrated with his mother Pietertje Visser to the States and that he ran from 1875 in New York a successful oil business.

It is possible not another accident, but also Gerrit and Andries van der Schuijt were active in the oil production and business at that time. It’s not quite imaginary that Gerrit and Andries knew of the existence of their second cousin Henry and that they have met him in 1896 in New York.

In an editorial essay of the publicist Leo Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn an amount of to me unknown facts about the brothers Gerrit and Herman in the book “Het Witte Huis 1898-1998” are published. Leo writes among other things: “It would seem the brothers prospered with the oil product business. In 1885 they saw possibilities to establish a factory for oil and grease at the Haringvliet under the firm name G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. Beside it they established a business in grease ware at the Zuidblaak in Rotterdam. It is striking that Gerrit and Herman in 1885 were 21 and 18 years old respectivel, having left behind the schoolbanks of the secondary school not so long ago.

Leo reports further, I quote “The prosperous development of their business drove them in the nineties to the daring plan to build Het Witte Huis. For this purpose they established the “N.V. Het Witte Huis”(). To pay the cost of this spectacular plan capital from outside was drawn (). Financial difficulties by the financiers some years after the completion of Het Witte Huis made up the base of the downfall of the firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. ()”.

The commercial enterprise must have been very lucrative because around 1987 the architect Willem Molenbroek was instructed to design a private house in the Avenue Concordia in Kralingen and on August 6, 1897 the brothers moved into Avenue Concordia 70. Possibly this was the first business contract between the brothers and the architect. Furthermore the gentlemen Van der Schuijt also bought some properties at the Gelderse Kade and the Wijnhaven to build here Het Witte Huis later.

About the causes of the bankruptcy of the firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. in 1903 I would like to remark that the real causes were totally different of that what before mentioned Leo Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn stated in his book “Het Witte Huis 1898-1998”.

The Company “Het Witte Huis Ltd.” was established May 6, 1897 with G.H. (Gerrit) van der Schuyt as director and H.M. (Herman) van der Schuyt as commissioner. The target of the partnership was to obtain, alienate, hire and let out real estate etc. The social capital of the partnership at the establishment amounted to 600.000,= guilders, of which 200.000 were placed and paid.

In connection with an appeal in the magazine “De Kroniek” of the Historical Society “Roterodamum” Joris Boddaer received from broker Piet Wessels an extreme important document, namely the minutes of the meetings of the shareholders of the company “Het Witte Huis Ltd.” over the period 1897-1904. The document consists of 24 handwritten pages in which is placed on record the reports of several meetings of shareholders. The report of the first shareholders meeting is undated. According to the minutes of this meeting are the following persons present: Miss M. van der Schuyt and the gentlemen W. (Willem) Molenbroek, T. van Houten and G.H.(Gerrit) van der Schuyt, who is provided with a general authority of the joint shareholder H.M. (Herman) van der Schuyt. Miss M. van der Schuyt is – as assumed – Marie (in full Maria Wilhelmina Magdalena) van der Schuit (1871-1956), a younger sister of Gerrit and Herman.

In this first meeting is on proposal of the director unanimously decided to build the property “Het Witte Huis” in accordance with drawings and plans of W. Molenbroek, who is assigned as architect. On June 15, 1897 the building license was applied for and the contract of the building was fixed on June 21, 1897. Among the local contractors some agitation had arisen because it was not clear which persons had taken the initiative for the building.

Only on the day of the contract architect Molenbroek told the contractors that the building of the property were issued by Het Witte Huis Ltd. and that the board of directors, being G.H. and H.M. van der Schuyt, took full responsibility. By a dozen contractors a tender was subscribed. Contractor J.H. Stelwagen turned out to have subscribed for the lowest amount, being 127.900 guilders. However he wouldn’t build the first Dutch skyscraper for this amount because the project turned out to be far more expensive than expected.

In the minutes of the second meeting of shareholders, probably early 1898, we read that the building of Het Witte Huis has been assigned to contractor J.H. Stelwagen for an amount of 215.000 Dutch guilders. Furthermore we read “After the ram of Het Witte Huis had been started, our company encountered the misfortune that the neighbouring property collapsed due to a bad construction.”. According to some newspapers this took place on August 5, 1897. To avoid lawsuits it was decided to buy the collapsed and next to the excavation situated property. The purchase price amounted to 27.000 Dutch guilders. An unexpected chance turned up to extend the office building.

Originally the building had been designed by Molenbroek for a suface area of 15 x 20 meters. By buying the collapsed property the surface area could be enlarged to approx. 21 x 20 meters. The architect succeeded to make an adapted specification at short notice so that the activities almost had no delay. The building of Het Witte Huis took over a year and on September 1, 1898 the delivery by the contractor took place. On September 8 the official opening of the building took place in the presence of a great deal of notables.

The building of the property had taken place on the corner of the Gelderse Kade and the Wijnhaven simultaneously with the demolition of some houses owned by the gentlemen Van der Schuyt or their firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co.

In the minutes of the shareholders meeting of February 28, 1899 we can read that the firm G.H. van der Schuyt & Co. did the proposal to deliver the property “Het Witte Huis” and site etc. etc. finished off to Company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. for the amount of 675.000 Dutch guilders, which proposal was accepted unanimously. Furthermore was decided to pay the firm G.H. van der Schuyt an amount of 75.000 Dutch guilders for expenses bond loan and as a reward for giving blank credit and the risk they took with the building

To finance all this the gentlemen Van der Schuyt meanwhile had for the purpose of the partnership issued a bond loan of 500.000 Dutch guilders with an interest of 4%. From the minutes of the shareholders meeting of February 28, 1899 can be concluded that the juridical ownership of the building by firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. only then was transferred to the Company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. The gentlemen Van der Schuijt together with Willem Molenbroek probably have set themselves up as real estate developers. Looking at the agreed purchase price of 675.000 Dutch guilders they don’t have to be afraid to live on air.

CHAPTER III

THE DOWNFALL

The title of this chapter refers to the bankruptcy in 1903 of the firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. and the loss of shares in the Company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. Still I didn’t have the answer to the question “How did it come that far and what were the causes of this enormous bankruptcy with a debt of over two million Dutch guilders”?

The solution of this mystery however came quite unexpected. On October 3, 1998 I was called by Joris Boddaert. Excited he informed me the following: Gerrit and Herman van der Schuyt in 1900 have bought for four million guilders building site in Rotterdam. They have bought far too expensive building site in the quarter Feyenoord and that made them bankrupt. I’ve read this in the Rotterdam Yearbook of 1936. For the site they paid over 6 Dutch guilders per square meter.

I couldn’t believe my ears, a site worth four million guilders, over six guilders per square meter, that must have been over 60 hectare. Thanks to Joris Boddaert the matter was cleared up and further investigation produced a wealth of information.

Although it falls beyond the scope of our subject about Het Witte Huis, after this follows a short survey around the drama of the land purchases in Rotterdam. Around 1900 the brothers Van der Schuyt and architect Molenbroek once more designed a very ambitious plan. It concerned the establishment of a complete urban district in Rotterdam-South on the left shore of the Meuse. This district was planned in the polder Varkenoord and Karnemelksland (between the current Adriaan Volkerweg , Olympiaweg and Stadionweg in Rotterdam) with industrial estates at the northern edge. The building plan was, especially in those days, taken spaciously. The brilliant Molenbroek thought up an ongoing traffic road, linking up the Oranjeboomstraat, into the direction of the village IJsselmonde with alongside the Meuse and the Zuiddiep an extensive area for trading and factory grounds. All streets of the new district would according to the design lead to the old railway station of IJsselmonde.

For the purpose of their plans the gentlemen Van der Schuyt and Molenbroek bought approx. 63 hectares artificial grounds in the Varkenoordse and Karnemelklandse polders for four million guilders. On March 29, 1900 these grounds were deposited by them into the Company for Exploitation of Building sites “Maasland” Ltd., which had its seat on the 7^th floor of Het Witte Huis. As from its birth the Company got into financial difficulties. To avoid worse the Company issued in 1902 a secured loan of 2.750.000 guilders, which they gained only partially and after much difficulties.

With the City of Rotterdam Company Maasland also had the necessary problems in obtaining the required permits and subsidies.

After laborious negotiations the intended street plan was approved by the Rotterdam local council on February 5, 1903, but unfortunately was never carried out. Between the council and the initiators remained a point of great dispute in answering the question whether the terrains west of the planned traffic road whether or not had to be heightened.

Both the brothers Van der Schuijt and Willem Molenbroek in the course of years had put their total business- and private fortune in the new enterprise. End 1903 they weren’t able anymore to settle their commitments, which in the end led to their bankruptcy on December 21, 1903. As consequence of these bankruptcies a snowball effect arose and during 1904 more bankruptcies followed of persons and enterprises involved with the “Project Maasland”.

Also the Company for Exploitation of Building sites “Maasland” Ltd. was declared bankrupt on February 24, 1904. The still present building sites were bought from the curator by the bond-holders and by them deposited in the Building site Company “Gemeenschappelijk Belang” Ltd. The value of the site meanwhile had considerably fallen, as the bond-holders received for each certificate of 1000 guilders bonds Maasland only 3 shares of 100 guilders in “Gemeenschappelijk Belang” Ltd.

In several publications has been declared that an exploitation shortage of Het Witte Huis would have led to the downfall of the firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co. in 1903. The previous story shows that the exploitation results of Het Witte Huis had nothing to do with the bankruptcy. It is even the contrary. From minutes of the shareholders meetings of the years 1897 till 1904 appears that the rental revenues were higher than the costs. Of the years 1899 and 1900 even 3% and 2,5% dividend was paid out. According to the minutes the profit and loss account of 1901 was closed with a credit balance of 4961 guilders and 1½ cent. The indebted interest of the 4% secured loan was paid yearly. Remarkable is that of the years 1901 upto and including 1905 no dividend to shareholders has taken place.

As mentioned before, all shares of the Company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. with a nominal value of 250.000 guilders had become, after the bankruptcy of the firm G.H. van der Schuijt & Co., in the hands of the pledgees Mol and Verhoeven.

In the shareholders meeting of March 16, 1904 a management change took place. Mr. B. Moret was appointed as the new director and the gentlemen Hubert Mol from Ginneken, Laurant Verhoeven and Hubert Verhoeven from Heusden took office as commissioners.

As a result of the bankruptcy of the brothers Van der Schuijt, architect Molenbroek and their construction companies a large number of rooms on the 7^th floor of Het Witte Huis became vacant. According to the Rotterdam address book the following enterprises late 1903 kept office on the 7th floor of Het Witte Huis:

Company 'Het Witte Huis' Ltd. the firm G.H. van der Schuyt & Co., businessmen Andries van der Schuyt, businessman; Willem Molenbroek, architect; Construction Company 'Rotterdam'; Buildingsite Company 'Bergweg'; Company for Exploitation of Buildingsites 'Neerlandia'; Buildingsite Company 'Maasland'; Buildingsite Company 'Polder Cool; Buildingsite Company 'De Heul'; Oost-Indische Exploratie Maatschappij; Buildingsite Company 'Onder Ons' Company for Exploitation of Business and Factorysites

A number of the before mentioned companies were so-called “paper” partnerships with Willem Molenbroek as director.

The new owners Mol and Verhoeven and their director Moret turned out to be unable to fill up the arisen vacancy and to get the offices in the building fully occupied. Because of this arose a worrying exploitation result. As mentioned a 4% mortgage bond loan of 500.000 guilders had been issued by the company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. in 1899. Consistent with the loan conditions an annual repayment by draw of 4000 guilders by bonds had to take place as per May 1, 1904, which meant an extra burden for the company as per financial year 1904. On July 1, 1906 the company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. was no longer able to pay the four redeemable bonds of 1.000 guilders each, as well as the interest coupons on September 1, 1906.

Meanwhile in 1905 the bondholders had united and appointed a commission. This commission decided on August 31, 1906 to take necessary steps to avoid a bankruptcy of the Company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. and to buy the building for joint account of the bondholders. In the shareholders meeting of September 25, 1906 were decisions taken by before mentioned commission taken over by the board of the company.

By The Dutch Trust Company in Amsterdam, holder of 27 pieces of bonds of 1000 guilders, a request was submitted at the District Court of Rotterdam to declare the company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. bankrupt due to not paying of an in May 1906 drawn bond of 1.000 guilders. On November 28, 1906 the company “Het Witte Huis” Ltd. was declared in state of bankruptcy by the District Court of Rotterdam with the appointment of Mr. Donald Eilis van Raalte, lawyer in Rotterdam, as curator.

Thereafter Het Witte Huis was sold by the curator underhand for 300.000 guilders to the commission of bondholders that deposited the building into the meanwhile established “Company for the exploitation of Het Witte Huis” Ltd. This new company has explored Het Witte Huis until the year 1975.

(This story has been published also in “Effe Lustere”, a periodical of the Historische Vereniging Werkendam en De Werken c.a. year 1999 nrs. 01 and 02 and in “In hetzelfde Schu-y-i-ij-tje”, a periodical of De Stichting Schu-y-i-ij-t, year 14, numbers 48 up to and including 52)

Sources::

'Op het Witte Huis sta je hoger' door Freek Faro en Hans Verschoor, Rotterdam oktober 1978, uitgever De Havenloods B.V./Westermeijer B.V.

'Het Witte Huis 1898-1998' door Joris Boddaert met redaktionele bijdragen van Cora Boele, Jan Klerks en Leo Barjesteh van Waalwijk van Doorn, september 1998, uitgever Boddaert Produkties, ISBN 90-72888-14-6.

Rotterdams Jaarboekje 1998, blz. 359 t/m 386, 'Het fotoalbum van aannemer J.H. Stelwagen' door Cora Boele, uitgave van het Gemeentearchief Rotterdam, 1998.

Rapport der Commissie van Onderzoek inzake 'Maasland', februari 1904, Gemeentearchief Rotterdam.

Artikel 'Het Witte Huis 1898-1998' door Joris Boddaert in nummer 115, september 1998, van de 'Kroniek', periodiek van het Historisch Genootschap Roterodamum.

Rotterdams Jaarboekje 1936, blz. 118 en 119, 'Stadsontwikkeling van Rotterdam in het begin van deze Eeuw' door L.J.C.J. van Ravensteyn.

Artikel 'Gerrit & Herman van der Schuijt' door Joris Boddaert in het Tijdschrift over Rotterdam "Weena", nummer 14, najaar 1998.

Notulen van de Algemene Vergaderingen van aandeelhouders van de N.V. Maatschappij 'Het Witte Huis' over de periode 1897 tot 1904.

'Het Witte Huis 100 jaar' in het dubbelnummer van "Ons Rotterdam", historisch tijdschrift voor Groot Rotterdam, 20e jaargang, no. 2/3 - 1998.

Mrs. van Nierop & Baak's 'Naamlooze Vennootschappen', diverse jaargangen, Bibliotheek Algemeen Rijksarchief te 's-Gravenhage.

Faillissementsdossier firma G.H. van der Schuijt & Co., Algemeen Rijksarchief 's-Gravenhage, toegang 3.03.17.01, inv.nr. 2998, faill.nr. 1115 uitgesproken door de Arrondissementsrechtbank te Rotterdam op 21 december 1903.

Register van de rechter-commissaris inzake het beheer van het faillissement van de firma G.H. van der Schuijt & Co., Algemeen Rijksarchief

's-Gravenhage, toegang 3.03.17.01, inv.nr. 3302, reg.nr. 49.

Faillissementsdossier W. Molenbroek, Algemeen Rijksarchief 's-Gravenhage, toegang 3.03.17.01, inv.nr. 2998, faill.nr. 1116 uitgesproken door de Arrondissementsrechtbank te Rotterdam op 21 december 1903.

Faillissementsdossier N.V. Maatschappij 'Het Witte Huis', Algemeen Rijksarchief 's-Gravenhage, toegang 3.03.17.01, inv.nr. 3016, faill.nr. 1739 uitgesproken door de Arrondissementsrechtbank te Rotterdam op 28 november 1906.

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