Background information:
As can be expected from a building from 1899, it has a rich history. Standing unobtrusively in a row of buildings of the same age, on a church square in Zwolle, as far as is known, it has always had a shopping function on the ground floor. An upstairs apartment has been there since the beginning. However, the details do change with some regularity. The last renovation took place in 2017. Steenweg 42 shows the building in the period up to 2016. The music store that was using the commercial space at the time did so throughout the entire ground floor. The front door of the porch of the upstairs apartment had been sacrificed for a wider store front. In large cities this happened more often because the height of the rent is partly determined by the width of the shop front.
Architectural details:
2016 was the year the music store left the building. The facade on the groundfloor still looked well cared for. The floors above showed more traces of decay. Think of window frames that could use a coat of paint and brickwork that was visibly aging. Joints were repaired incidentally, but that just gave that worn look. The steel-framed skylight and the roof tiles also had left their best time. Those who really want to imitate the building of that time will have to pollute the originally orange red rooftiles to the point that they appear to be almost gray. Even in this condition, the building looked quite stately. What really suites in the old center of Zwolle.
