Flora Building Boskoop

In 1931, the exhibition grounds were donated to the municipality of Boskoop by the Ministry of Water Management. On the occasion of the opening of the Gouda – Boskoop – Alphen aan den Rijn railway on October 7, 1934, a rosarium was established on the site. Construction also began on the exhibition building Flora. Important 'flower exhibitions' would be held here. The building was largely financed by the Dutch Railways. They expected that visitors to the exhibitions would come by train, as at that time not many people had access to a car. The construction of Flora began around 1933. The building was designed by municipal architect D.L. Landman in the architectural style of "Nieuwe Zakelijkheid".

The building was to be operated as a core building for large flower exhibitions that would be held in large tents built around Flora. The remaining time (when there was no exhibition) would be utilized as a café-restaurant with a banquet hall / theater hall.

The official opening of Flora was on Wednesday, February 20, 1935, by Queen Wilhelmina. The local associations performed in the theater, as did major artists such as Snip and Snap, as well as the VARA dance orchestra 'the ramblers'. In total, three flower exhibitions were held in building Flora.

On August 25, 1939, the Dutch army seized building Flora. The building was converted into a horse hospital. The military thoroughly renovated the building. As of September 7, 1940, the Germans took over the building, also using Flora as a horse hospital. During this time, bombings were carried out with the aim of destroying Flora and the station. The Boskoop railway suffered significant damage, but miraculously the buildings were preserved. When the Allies liberated Boskoop, there was probably a victory performance on the stage of Flora. Building Flora was used for only 3.5 years for its original function due to the outbreak of WWII.

After the war, the building was so badly damaged that it had to be sold. There was no money for renovation, and the municipality was not interested in investing in the building to restore its original function. For this reason, bus company Citosa purchased the Flora building without the attached hall. They housed the buses in the building and maintained them there.

The hall of Flora was rented by Mulder machine factory. Initially, they worked on refurbishing train cars. They also manufactured small cars such as Panhards and Fiat Topolinos. Later, they focused entirely on the manufacture of concrete mixers. The aforementioned companies further dismantled the building. The round arch doors disappeared and were replaced with industrial rolling doors, and the stained-glass windows made way for large square windows. When Citosa moved to a new building in 1961 because they could not expand on Parklaan, Mulder also took residence in Flora.

In the mid-90s, the factory went bankrupt. After the bankruptcy, the Flora building, including the outdoor area, was purchased by J&W Verweij Projecten BV from Boskoop, which made it possible to develop the area where the Flora building is located. To this end, the company entered into a collaboration with the Dutch Railways, as they are the owner of the remaining lands in the area. This development had previously been impossible due to restrictions caused by the environmental permit of machine factory Mulder.

Boskoop is a thriving nursery village in the middle of South Holland. There is a vibrant trade in nursery products. Boskoop is a village with a rich history. J&W Verweij purchased one of the most important historical buildings in Boskoop in 1999 and has persuaded the municipality and the national heritage service to declare this building a monument. This building is building Flora.

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