From passion to Schoenenkwartier
A man with a hobby... That can get wonderfully out of hand, but sometimes something beautiful grows out of it. What began seventy years ago with the passion of Waalwijker Antoon Hendriks has now grown into an award-winning museum: the Shoe Quarter.
In 1942, Antoon Hendriks (1905-1965) was appointed "shoe teacher" at the Industrial School for Waalwijk and Surroundings. Antoon is the son of a shoemaker and, not entirely surprisingly, has a passion for shoes. He is a true collector. Hendriks is able to show his shoe collection for the first time in 1948 during an exhibition for the leather and shoe industry in Waalwijk. He seized that opportunity with both hands by setting up a historic shoemaker's room.
The room is becoming a huge success. So big that Hendriks tentatively begins to think about a shoe museum. Meanwhile, his collection has already grown to the point that it no longer fits in the house and is spread across several storage rooms. One can guess what Hendriks' wife thinks of his hobby, but Mayor Teijssen is at least positive. He offered to house the collection in the attic of the town hall, built in 1932 (the Kropholler building). Hendriks was not going to say that twice.
A real museum
Five years later another exhibition is organized in Waalwijk, the S.L.E.M. The abbreviation stands for Shoes, Leather and Fashion. Again Hendriks gets the chance to present his collection and again it becomes a success. That opens the way to a real museum. In April 1953, the deed of incorporation is signed by the notary: the Stichting Oudheidkundig Museum voor de Schoen- en Lederindustrie is a fact.
Housing is also found. And this is in the former café at the Kloosterwerf number 6. A small building where also the first janitor, Dirk Simons, has to live. Antoon Hendriks is of course the first director and Jan van Heesbeen becomes chairman of the board. On July 31, 1954, the museum opens its doors to the public.
Immediately, the lack of space starts to fray. The museum building is really too small. Therefore Hendriks waits with the desired expansion of the collection. No objects in the field of leather or leather preparation for a while yet, no matter how much the director would like that. In fact, the museum is so cramped that only ten people can enter at a time. By the shoehorn, so to speak. Group visits are not possible.
It soon became apparent that the collection has the potential to be of national importance. Not least because more and more visitors from outside the region visit the museum. From 1957, therefore, the museum is called the National Museum for the Shoe and Leather Industry.
More and more variety
The cramped housing remained a major problem. In 1959, therefore, the former home of leather manufacturer Witlox at 148 Grotestraat was purchased. A building with a history that fits the theme of the National Museum. This time Commissioner of the Queen Kortmann is kind enough to open the museum. He does so on October 4, 1960. And again the janitor - a new one: Mr. Dekkers - is housed in the building.
Of course, the ambition now is also to significantly increase the number of visitors. In the analogous sixties, among other things, a large signboard with a boot should take care of this. In Waalwijk from that moment on, the shoe museum can no longer be overlooked. In 1962 the name is changed for the third time: Nederlands Museum voor Schoenen, Leder en Lederwaren.
Anthony Hendriks is just about to live through it all. Three years after this name change, the founder of the museum dies. His tasks are divided between chairman of the board Jac. Bergmans and curator Jan. P. Bergmans.
Starting in the 1960s, the museum becomes less static. In addition to the permanent collection, a first temporary exhibition appears in 1966. Here visitors can admire the best results of the I.S.D.C. (International Shoe Design Competition). Every year, an exhibition is filled with the prize winners and nominees. When the museum celebrates its 25th anniversary in 1973, the public can enjoy for the first time a temporary exhibition with a new theme: The Shoe of the Past.
Museum attraction
Two years later, the museum gets a real boost. The machinery with shoe machines from the recently closed State Trade School for the Leather and Shoe Industry becomes part of the collection. This, of course, affects the accommodation. The collection is now really one size too big, overdue maintenance does not make the building any better, and emergency exits are missing. The museum is bursting at the seams. There are other wishes as well: more attention needs to be paid to the leather industry and leather preparation. The first visitor guides and audiovisuals ensure this. This leads to a first exhibition on the leather industry in 1977. In short, the museum grows and flourishes, but the housing does not move with it. All help is welcome. Two years later, the Club of Friends of the Museum is a reality.
In 1983, the second, necessary move comes into view. Gemeente Waalwijk buys the premises of the former shoe factory Pinocchio at Elzenweg 25. At that time, it was being used as an exhibition building. Shortly thereafter, the completely renovated museum is housed here. And again the name is changed, this time to the Dutch Leather and Shoe Museum. With the new name and larger housing, it becomes the museum attraction of Waalwijk. On September 12, 1984, State Secretary van Zeil of Economic Affairs opens the new museum.
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Life in the tannery
In the same year, the estate of the Van Iersel tannery from Oisterwijk comes into possession. From now on, the public can enjoy a complete factory set-up from the end of the 19th century. Antoon Hendriks also returns symbolically. His shoemaker's living and working quarters will have a permanent place in the museum. And there is catering for the first time. Visitors received half a sole as a cookie with their coffee. In 1985 the first volunteers also became active. They gave tours and gave demonstrations of shoemaking and tanning, with working machines. This literally brought life into the tannery. Three years later, climate control was introduced and the space for temporary exhibitions was remodeled. The museum is more and more contemporary.
In 1990, the Friends Foundation was officially established. In the same year, incidentally, the TNO Institute for Leather and Shoes in Waalwijk closes its doors. Part of the TNO library is taken over, so that the museum library, which Hendriks had already started at home in 1956, must be enlarged. A renovation follows in 1994.
And still the museum is not finished. In 2000 there are innovations again: a separate children's museum is created, audio guides make their debut, and a year later the museum is entered in the museum register.
Quarters
The biggest change comes in 2017. The museum will then temporarily close its doors to rise like a phoenix from the ashes in 2022. This time in the current building at 1 Raadhuisplein and thus along the famous Grotestraat. Once the center of the shoe industry. The architects at Civic Architects are unpacking a renovation that is up for grabs. They connect the extension from the 1980s to the old Town Hall via an open structure. With great attention to Kropholler's heritage and sustainable use of new materials, they are creating a beautiful museum building. Tinker Imagineers is shaping the exhibitions in a creative and surprising way.Â
On June 21, 2022, the new museum will open its doors, with a shoe lab and knowledge center. And, of course, again with a new name, the fifth: SCHOENKWARTIER. And so we are back to the Kropholler complex and thus to the hobby of that one man, Antoon Hendriks. On the spot where part of his out-of-control collection was once allowed to be stored in the attic, a modern museum now stands. A museum that celebrates its seventieth anniversary this year.
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