Gustav Henriksen ordered his first two ships before construction had even started on the headquarters he wanted them to operate from. As founder of Den Norske Amerikalinje, the Norwegian America Line, Henriksen commissioned architects Andreas Bjercke and Georg Eliassen to design a neo-baroque building near Oslo’s harbor, and it opened in 1919 as the company’s administration hub.
From here, the line managed a fleet of 19 ships that carried more than half a million Norwegians across the Atlantic in search of a better life, along with the letters and mail that kept immigrant families connected to home. The company ran the building until competition from other transport eventually ended its passenger routes in 1980. It reopened as a hotel in 2019, its centennial year, with the original grand staircases, vaulted ceilings, and vintage elevators restored alongside 122 new guest rooms.