The architect Kropholler was a disciple of Berlage, though some see him as a follower of the Delft school. The Delft school’s style is recognisable by the traditional mortar work, brick walls, the use of natural stone and steep roofs.
Church with rectory, seen from Hagedoornplein, 1922
The convent, chapel, kindergarten, girls’ school, laundry and dwellings belonged to the order of the Congregation of St. Catherine of Sienna (the Dominican Sisters). The bordering Sint Ritakerk (church) and boys’ school belonged to the Diocese of Haarlem. The convent order was a women’s community, entirely walled in and protected. The only man who ever entered was the pastor, who entered the convent through a special entrance to say mass in the chapel.
Cyclist observes badly damaged church, 1943
On 17 July 1943, the allied forces tried to bomb the Fokker airplane factory on the Papaverweg, which was used by the Germans during the war. They missed their target and instead hit the residential areas lying nearby, the Sint Rosaklooster and the Sint Ritakerk, where 500 school children had just finished mass in honour of the 25 year anniversary of the church. In total, 208 people were killed in North. Since 2003, this event has been commemorised every year at the Noorderbegraafplaats (cemetery).
View of Sint Ritakerk, 1989
In about 1947, Cornelis Marie van Moorsel restored the school buildings and the church, returning them to their original state. However, because of the secularisation of society, the complex lost its religious function in the second half of the twentieth century. The building now houses socially active organisations and a number of flats.