Anyone driving into The Hague along the A12 passes it: De Rode Olifant on the Zuid-Hollandlaan, the striking building across from the Malieveld.
It is one of the best known buildings in the city, and probably one you have driven past hundreds of times without knowing the story behind it.
It went up in the 1920s and spent years tied to the oil company we now know as Esso.
Built for the oil business
The history starts in 1921, when work began on a new head office for the American Petroleum Company, the forerunner of Esso.
The building was finished in 1924 and was given the name Petrolea, although the name De Rode Olifant is far better known today.
So was Esso a Hague company?
Not quite. Esso was and is part of an international oil group, so it cannot really be called a company of The Hague.
The city did play an important part in the Dutch history of the firm: the building on the Zuid-Hollandlaan served for years as the Dutch head office, until Esso moved it to Breda in 1987.
The link with the city is still visible on the street, where an Esso petrol station stands right next to De Rode Olifant.
