At the corner of Hoge Nieuwstraat, next to the large patrician house "Vader Tijd," stands the building Vlak 1. The building was built between 1870 and 1876 as a retail space and warehouse for the firm J.P. Wijers. It was designed by the architect H.W. Veth who also built, among other things, H.C. Wijers' liqueur distillery at the corner of Korte Breestraat and Vriesestraat (1877) and the Savings Bank (1875) at Bagijnhof 42. Wijers, a liquor dealer and shopkeeper, had the storefront built on the site of three small buildings and established his thriving business in it. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Wijers gave the building to J.A.M. Simons, a sales clerk of the firm, who ran his Dordtse Manufactuurhandel there for several years. When he too left, the building was used as an office, but since 1924 it has housed a dance school. The building crowned with a list gable is known by the name Sociëteit Amicitia. In 1974, this gentlemen's society, founded in 1783, moved into the building, which now has national monument status. Visitors have access to the hall, staircase and second floor, where the society holds its meetings.
