The color of the urban environment has a great influence on the individual character of a city and is determined by centuries of history. The successful project Dordt Colors began in 1993 and operates at the intersection of historical research into the use of color and contemporary architectural and urban design practice. It aims to use a historically inspired color palette to specify the architecture of individual buildings and to enhance the spatial quality of the city. Never before in the Netherlands has attention been paid to color and its knowledge and application within a historical context in this way. A crucial role in this is reserved for the unique and versatile color range 55 Dordtse kleuren, which has been available to the city of Dordrecht since March 2004. Housing corporations, policy makers in the field of historic preservation, paint suppliers, painting companies and the users and residents of the city have contributed to this project. Thus Dordtse kleuren, which originated from a private initiative of Stichting De Stad, has gained a prominent place within a tradition of two centuries of color projects and color strategies. The book Dordtse kleuren is a richly illustrated account of this large-scale research and of the search for color in Holland's oldest city.