Het Grach­t­enhuis

Het Grachtenhuis (Herengracht 386, Amsterdam), a 17th-century mansion designed by Philips Vingboons, the most famous Dutch architect of the Golden Age, will open to the public on April 1, 2011.

It will feature interactive exhibits on the history of Amsterdam’s canals and of the canal house mansion, which was visited several times by President John Adams, who used Dutch funds gathered by one of the home’s former owners, banker Jan Willink, to lay the foundation for the independence of the United States.