The Building

Graafseweg 108 has been the home of El Corte since 1994. It was originally built in 1919 as Nijmegen’s auction hall for the city.

The transformation into a Tango home started with a sprung wood dance floor and demolishing the walls that divided the space. The electrical wiring, plumbing and heating systems also needed to be updated. The mezzanine and tangogogo balcony was added, as were the footbath, shower and bathroom facilities. Eduard created a true boudoir to replace the merely functional dressing room.

In 1999, noise complaints from neighbors led to the renovation of the big dance hall and by 2001 the insulated back wall and new double sprung floor — the pride of El Corte — solved the neighbor problem while creating a larger area for dancing. Luc’s orchestra balcony above the DJ’s corner was installed and the sound, lights and ventilation systems were updated.
In 2002, the mezzanine was expanded and, with the addition of a new spiral staircase, bridge and innovative steel wardrobe, a kitchen re-do and a new office, the front space of El Corte blossomed.

The roof renovation followed in 2004. A small slice of paradise, the roof garden is used for private events and special occasions only.

In 2005, Henry and Eric bought the apartments on ‘railway side’ of the building which were the used as offices during the auction hall days. This was recently converted into the El Corte Annex.

Two years later, the apartment above the entrance to El Corte was purchased. As of August 2007, the entire auction hall was incorporated into the El Corte Tango home. This addition facilitated the new El Corte dormitory in 2008. Constructed by Luc, the dormitory upstairs and new toilet downstairs provide expanded and updated accommodations for visiting dancers.

The appartment on top of el corte was bought in 2007. From August of that year the whole original auction building is now owned by el corte. Because of this we could have a dorm. It was constructed by Luc in 2008 as well as a new toilet section downstairs.

In 2013  solar panels were installed on our roof, covering at least 50% of our electricity.

New plans are to recover from the Coronacrisis.

El Corte will always be a work in progress !