Fire in the factory

The streetscape changed significantly when the Nieuwenhuizen factory discontinued its Leiden branch in 1972. The impressive building on the Morsweg became empty, and though this had little consequences for the jobs of the men of the Wolmarans, it did impact the women. Life on the streets continued, but scenes of women sitting in front of their door with a bowl on their lap and a peeler in their hand slowly disappeared.

In 1980, The Morsweg suffered its final loss of the factory when a fire broke out in the empty building. Two years later, in 1982, the old factory was demolished. The whole neighborhood took to the streets to watch how the smokestack of Nieuwenhuizen, once upon a time the pride of Transvaal, collapsed.

After demolition, the vacant site was filled with apartment buildings, including a large complex of student residences, affectionately known as the ‘Mors' among students. It would prove to be the first step in the transformation from a working-class neighborhood to a neighborhood where both students and yuppies like to live.