With a history spanning over 100 years, Schiphol has undergone numerous transformations. The airport you see now looks radically different from the one that saw the start of civil aviation in the Netherlands in 1916. However, there are still some relics from the past to be found here and there. Want to know where to find them? Take a look at these photos of historical places at Schiphol.
Looking at the lettering, shapes and colours, there’s no mistaking that this is quite an old logo. From 1946 in fact. You can find this sign on Poortstraat at Schiphol-East, which is the area where the original airfield was located.
Here we see Mercury, Roman god of travel (among other things), standing proudly on a globe. This monument was inaugurated on 29 September 1931 to commemorate the start of the Amsterdam-Batavia scheduled service. Batavia was the capital of the Dutch East Indies, now known as Jakarta, Indonesia. Exiting Arrivals 3, you can spot this monument next to the entrance of the Sheraton Hotel.
It may be hard to believe, but this area filled with concrete slabs and storage buildings close to the Wings restaurant at Schiphol-East is historic ground. This is the location of the original Schiphol airfield. On 17 May 1920, an historic event took place here: the handling of the first KLM flight.
What is now a manhole cover on P57 was the midpoint of the landing area in the airport’s early years. It was clearly marked so that the pilots could estimate how many meters they had left during landing.
At Schiphol-East you will the find an old control tower dating back to 1952. It was Schiphol’s fourth control tower and it was used until 1967, when the terminal at Schiphol-Centre opened. During that fifteen-year period, it saw an average of six to ten flights and 325 passengers per day. In 1998 the tower was saved from demolition by a number of companies at Schiphol-East. They raised money to relocate the tower and it is now home to Wings restaurant.
