'Cruquius' (Cruquiusdijk 27), located southwest of Vijfhuizen, was built in 1843-49 as one of the three steam pumping stations for the reclamation of the Haarlemmermeer. The pumping station consists of a tower-shaped round engine room with plastered battlements and a boiler room with cast iron windows and a chimney, all executed in Willem II Gothic style designed by J.A. Beijerinck. For the design of the machinery he was assisted by the English J. Gibbs and A. Dean. An impressive vertical steam engine (Harvey & Co.) drives eight wrought-iron balances through the building (Van Vlissingen & Dudok van Heel), which then set in motion eight piston pumps (Fox & Co.). These piston pumps carry the water from the Kruisvaart upwards of five meters on a so-called dumping floor built around the tower, from where the water flows in the Haarlemmerringvaart.
After completion of the reclamation (1852) the pumping station remained in use until 1933, after which it was protected as one of the first Monuments of Company and Technology. Since then, the six boilers from 1888 have disappeared, but the steam engine can be hydraulically set in motion for museum purposes. The pumping station serving as a museum also contains parts of other steam pumping stations. The former supervisor's home (Cruquiusdijk 29, circa 1849) is used as a teahouse.
