Built in 1885 by architect Isaac Gosschalk in the Dutch Neorenaissance style, Wester Gasfabriek, after becoming one of the largest coal gas extraction plants in the Netherlands and providing gas for the city until the late 1950s, ceased production in 1967. Used by Amsterdam Electricity and Gas Company as a site for storage, repair, laboratories and workshops since, it was taken over by the Westerpark district council in 1992. Considering redevelopment, the city launched a call for ideas in 1991, followed by the granting of permissions for cultural and artistic projects to be hosted in 1993. A diverse cultural and commercial programme of activities, involving small-scale cultural producers as well as the organization of large-scale commercial events, stimulated the regeneration of the area, which in turn encouraged the tenants to programme their own cultural events. Companies such as theatre Orkater and the Cirque du Soleil arrived in the early 1990s, with different buildings on the site functioning as offices or performance spaces; the site was used for opera performances, fashion shows, exhibition, circus, car launches. Interim use continued under the management of a real estate developer and the continued designation of the site for cultural uses. From 2000 onwards neighborhood associations could let one of the building spaces once per annum for half the normal rent. The city’s development agency would contribute towards the building’s maintenance and rent costs, users paying only for the internal infrastructure and furniture. Since 2003 the site has been functioning as a cultural park hosting creative entrepreneurs and numerous events and festivals.