Hotel, café, liquor store, department store, grocery store and soldier’s quarters: the former Kamerling café in Zwartemeer has been a building with many faces. A new function will be added in a year and a half, namely an apartment complex.
Two things remain the same to the relief of the village: the appearance and the possibility to buy a cup of coffee, for example. A small part of the old village pub has been preserved.
The history of the striking building on the corner of the Kamerlingswijk and the Verlengde Hoogeveense Vaart goes way back. Since the end of the nineteenth century it has been a familiar sight in the streets of the peat village. That came to an end a few years ago.
The cafe, which was then called the Night Watch (indeed, with a d), slammed the door. The building has been vacant ever since and impoverished impoverishment. Joop Knol, the new owner, was considering the future of the building. One thing was certain. The wrecking ball was spared the building.
This is partly due to a piece of youth sentiment, explains Knol. “Part of my childhood was within these four walls,” he says. This does not only apply to him, but to many villagers. A night out, carnival, a wedding, everyone set foot over the threshold for one of these reasons. Something to keep in mind, says Knol.
In addition, Knol could rely on a provincial subsidy, which also helped the redevelopment of the old living room of Zwartemeer. Knol’s plan includes the arrival of four rental apartments in Kamerling itself. Three more owner-occupied homes will be built on the site of the now demolished banquet hall. Knol expects to have completed the job in about a year and a half.
“All together it allows us to preserve the property as everyone remembers it,” says Knol. Because over the years the building has been renovated considerably. Some fine things fell prey to this urge to innovate. The idea is therefore to restore the building to its original state where possible. “We managed to get hold of construction drawings and old photos. We are trying to get some authentic details back.”
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