About the house.
The house was built in 1686 by a tax collector from Haarlem. While the interior would have been much more austere back then, one prominent flourish it has always proudly displayed are the dolphins adorning the gable.
It would be almost 200 years before ‘The House with the Dolphins’ received a lavish makeover by distiller Willem Hendrick Warnsinck in 1870. That’s when the building as we know it today took shape with its richly painted ceilings and balcony overlooking the garden.
The Grand Salon and Golden Room were fully renovated in 2014, restoring the original 19th-century colors and replacing the heavily damaged ceiling painting with an interpretation of a 1708 painting by Abraham Bisschop based on the ancient Greek fable The Bird in Borrowed Feathers.

House with the dolphins

History

The Bird in Borrowed Feathers
About StadsSalon.
StadsSalon is more than just a venue. It’s both an event space for exclusive private dinners, business meetings and workshops as well as a culture house. Our non-profit foundation uses the revenue from events to provide means and a podium for people with brilliant ideas and no money.
For over twenty years we have facilitated in this way hundreds of cultural encounters like exhibitions, screenings, sponsor dinners, discussions, presentations, an occasional concert or try-out and once even a fashion show and a dance performance! Our cultural events are all free of charge for both organizers and audiences.
StadsSalon is a so-called ‘hidden place’. We are not on the socials, we do not have a newsletter and we don’t publish an agenda. Most people find to us through word of mouth, introduction or by invitation.
StadsSalon is a non-subsidized private initiative of Tracy Metz and Baptist Brayé and our way of giving back.
Sharing the history
We love telling the story and journey of this amazing ‘house with the dolphins’. We are lucky to be a part of the history and eager to share this with you. Please contact us to arrange a visit.