change much for the next few centuries. With the settlement of Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews in the adjacent neighbourhoods, some areas of Lastage became part of the Jewish Quarter. After the Nazi occupation of World War II, many of the area's residents had relocated or been deported and large parts of the neighbourhood had fallen into disrepair. In the 1960s, as part of the 1953 Post-war Reconstruction Plan, the city council planned for a traffic thoroughfare and a metro line to be built through the Lastage area. Under the leadership of Geurt Brinkgreve, an activist for the protection of cultural heritage, campaigning took place between 1967 and 1975 for the conservation of the monumental De Pinto House, which was situated directly on the planned route. Activists from the kraakbeweging (squatters' movement) managed to maintain the property well, in conjunction with the De Pinto Foundation, newly established in 1971 at the initiative of Brinkgreve. By conserving this strategically located building, the construction of the controversial dual carriageway road was effectively blocked. On January 5, 1972 city council decided to abandon the project. The De Pinto Foundation successfully restored the heavily neglected house in 1974-1975. In addition to the road plan, many planned office buildings were scrapped as well, in favour of homes. Between 1975 and 1984, new residential developments arose around the Pinto House. The eastern line of the new Amsterdam Metro did go ahead as planned, and the method used to construct the metro tunnels required whole city blocks to be demolished. On March 24 and April 8, 1975, riots erupted over the demolition of homes that were still in good condition. Today, Lastage is a popular neighbourhood due to its relative tranquillity in the midst of a lively, central location in the city. Lastage borders Chinatown, De Wallen, the Waterlooplein area and is located near Centraal Station. Listed buildings and architecture Notable examples: Montelbaanstoren (1516), Oudeschans 2 Zuiderkerk (1603-1614), Zuiderkerkhof 72 Huis De Pinto (1680), Sint Antoniesbreestraat 69 "The House with the Clock" (19th century), Sint Antoniesbreestraat 2 Scheepvaarthuis (phase I - 1916; phase II - 1928), Prins Hendrikkade 108 Further reading: Complete list of listed buildings in Lastage (in Dutch) External links Nieuwmarktbuurt Website (in Dutch) Neighbourhood Association (in Dutch) De Nieuwmarktbuurt en het bovengrondse spoor van de Metro (in Dutch) References Neighbourhoods of Amsterdam Holocaust locations in the Netherlands