The Jordan: 17th century and formed by the western edge of a hemisphere of concentric canals: Herengracht, Keisersgracht, Prinsengracht. Its houses, their foundations reclaimed by the finest Dutch engineers – world masters at cheating the seas and taming the polder – are tall and narrow.
Which meant tiny stairways.
Which meant headaches for those paid to move oak table and horsehair sofa as a burgeoning middle class (those who hadn’t traded their all for a single tulip bulb) moved up the property ladder. Photo essay here …