This park has great festivals in the summer and ni...

This park has great festivals in the summer and nice eateries towards the center of the park.
History ----
The original park has been established in 1891. It served this quiet, working class area of Amsterdam, which bears the same name Westerpark. Located behind the park was a gas factory built in 1883 by British Imperial Continental Gas Association. Both the park and the factory were located at the straight road leading to Harlem Haarlemmerweg.

It all started to change in 1960 s. Resources of the natural gas had been found in the North Sea. The gas factory became obsolete. Since then its buildings were used only for storage, or just stood empty. At the same time a strong anarchic movement of youth squatters (Dutch: krakers) by occupying some of the buildings saved them from demolition. The aesthetical values also changed - the old city installations started to look original, their architecture began to be valued. In 1989 old red brick buildings received the status of industrial monuments. The whole area of the municipal gas and water installations has been remodeled, trees planted and in 2003 Westergasfabriek has been opened to the public.