Café 't Mandje Bet van Beeren

History Cafe 't Mandje 1927-2007
Café 't Mandje was sinds 1927 het café van de legendarische Bet van Beeren. Voor Bet, zelf lesbisch, was iedereen gelijk en haar café stond, in een tijd waarin homosexualiteit strafbaar was, open voor homo's, lesbo's etc. die zichtzelf konden zijn tussen de zeelui, hoeren, buurtbewoners, acteurs, schilders en intellectuelen die hier ook kwamen. Het interieur is in de loop van 80 jaren volgehangen met allerlei souvenirs: van afgeknipte stropdassen tot directoires en heel veel foto's. Café 't Mandje (meaning "little basket") was opened in 1927 by the legendary Bet van Beeren. Eldest daughter of a family of 14, born in 1902 in De Jordaan, lesbian Bet was a pioneer in human rights and she openly welcomed gays, lesbians etc. in times when homosexuality was illegal, to mingle with the sailors, neighbours, artists and intellectuals who also frequented the little bar. Inside still remains the enormous collection of souvenirs: cut-off men's ties, underwear and lots and lots of photo's. Bet stierf in 1967 na 40 jaar Café 't Mandje te hebben gerund. Haar jongste zus Greet (1923-2007) nam de zaak over, totdat ze moest sluiten vanwege de enorme drugsoverlast in de buurt, waardoor het open houden van het café onmogelijk werd. Greet hield alles zoals het was. Wekelijks stofzuigde ze en luchtte ze het café en ook de kachel heeft tijdens die periode gebrand: 26 jaar lang...
Bet died in 1967 after 40 years of running her famous bar. Her youngest sister Greet (1923-2007) took over until she had to close down due to severe drug problems in the area that made life and running a bar impossible. This was in 1982. Greet kept the place intact. She dusted and vacuumed the bar on a weekly basis and guarded her famous sister's legacy. Waiting for better times. For 26 years....

In 2007 was het 80 jaar geleden dat Bet het café overnam van haar ome Toon. Het was in 2007 veertig jaar geleden dat Bet stierf. Greet, inmiddels 84, verkocht het café aan haar nicht Diana. Greet overleed in augustus. Na ingrijpende verbouwing, reparatie en schoonmaak is Café 't Mandje in oude glorie hersteld en tot groot genoegen van de homowereld, de Stad Amsterdam en de buurt op 29 april 2008 heropend. In 2007 it was 80 years ago that Bet took over the bar from her uncle Toon. It was also 40 years since Bet died. Greet, 84, sold the little bar to her niece Diana. Greet died in August. After serious reconstructions, cleaning and repairs the bar was restored to its former glory and was re-opened on April 29, 2008. Much to the delight of the gay community, the City of Amsterdam and the neighbourhood. Café 't Mandje is one of the 50 'windows' of the Canon of Amsterdam. The bar, and more specific 'auntie' Bet van Beeren, has become the symbol of the tolerant nature of Amsterdam through the ages. A finer tribute one cannot imagine…

Visit the Amsterdam Museum where part of the bar's interior has been reconstructed, inlcuding the cut-off men's ties hanging from the ceiling, photographs and messages and business cards left behind by customers. You can listen to Greet van Beeren on a monitor talking about the bar's history.