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                                                                                                           local Thursday 11 July 2024
            In celebrating 200 years of Oranjestad...

            Learn about the history of the famous town hall!



            (Oranjestad)—If you’ve ever                               mansion for the first time, fur-
            taken a stroll through main                               nished entirely by her sisters-
            street Oranjestad, you may                                in-law.
            have stumbled upon a big
            green house with beautiful                                The mansion also contained
            colonial  design.  This  leg-                             the doctor’s office, as well as
            endary  house,  now  used                                 a pharmacy. After the death
            as a town hall for civil mar-                             of  Jacobo,  the  house  was
            riages, was once owned by                                 inherited by his son, an Aru-
            a wealthy doctor and formed                               ban dentist, who converted
            part  of  the  elite  neighbor-                           Jacobo’s office into his own
            hood in Oranjestad.                                       dental  practice.  Over  the
                                         by  architect  Chibi  Wever,  years, the house was rented
            Jacobo Eloy Arends was an  and constructed under the  and used by third parties, but
            Aruban  physician,  and  in  leadership of famous master  eventually fell into disrepair,
            lived  in  Oranjestad  during  carpenter, Dada Picus, who  as the maintenance cost be-
            the 1920s. In 1922, he mar-  was famous at the time for  came too high to cover.
            ried Maria Monica Lacle, the  his construction of beautiful
            daughter of well-known busi-  buildings.                  The land was sold to Land
            ness man at the time, Adri-                               Aruba in 1986, but it did not
            aan Lacle. The two lived a  The construction of the house  see a renovation until 1997.
            posh life in the city center,  started  once  Jacobo  and  Nowadays, it serves to host
            and their mansion—once the  Maria  got  engaged.  It  is  weddings, and is attached to
            center for neighborhood par-  said that during the time of  a modern building situated
            ties—now serves as a public  construction, Maria was not  behind—the Aruban census     by  Jacobo’s  brother  Fred-  in  ruins.  However,  the  Aru-
            town hall for civil marriages  allowed to see the building  office.                    erico  Maximiliaan  (Machi)  ban  government  recently
            and is a cultural monument  nor be anywhere near the                                   Arends. Frederico was mar-   announced  its  official  res-
            on the island.               construction  site.  It  wasn’t  Jacobo and Maria’s mansion   ried  to  Veneranda  (whom  toration, with plans to con-
                                         until  after  her  honeymoon  was situated in front of anoth-  the  mansion  was  named  vert  this  monument  into  a
            The  house  was  designed  that she saw the completed  er famous mansion, owned        after). Their house was also  governmental  office  and
                                                                                                   constructed by Dada Picus,  public  space  for  visitors  of
                                                                                                   utilizing Veneranda’s design  Oranjestad.
                                                                                                   vision that was inspired by a  Source and pictures credited
                                                                                                   house she saw in Cartagena,  to: “De Kolibrie op de Rots
                                                                                                   Colombia.                    (en meer over the geschie-
                                                                                                                                denis van Aruba)” by Evert
                                                                                                   Nowadays, this mansion lies  Bongers.q





















            Visit the historic museum at Fort Zoutman!



            (Oranjestad)—Located  in  rate buildings that, over the  The fort itself was originally  fort  and  the  tower  had  mercial, military and social
            the  middle  of  downtown  years, have been merged:  constructed        to   protect  functioned    as   different  history of Oranjestad, offer-
            Oranjestad,  situated  right  the  fort  and  the  tower.  the  commerce  bay  of  government  center  points,  ing a glance into how the
            next  to  the  government  That’s right, the iconic 5-sto-  Paardenbaai  from  pirates  including a tax and stamps  social  culture  of  the  town
            building “Cocolishi”, is one  ry,  squared  tower  was  not  and   other   disreputable  office. For some time these  came  to  be.  If  you  are  in-
            of  the  oldest  buildings  of  part of the original structure  characters  roaming  the  two  buildings  also  housed  terested in history and want
            Aruba:  Fort  Zoutman.  First  of  the  fort,  and  is  actually  Caribbean  Sea.  Unlike  the  a  police  precinct  and  jail,  to learn more about Aruba,
            constructed  in  1796,  this  called  “Willem  III  Toren”.  Willem  III  Toren,  Fort  Zout-  and   even   experienced  then  Fort  Zoutman  should
            site  has  been  used  (or  left  Constructed  in  1867,  this  man  had  a  more  tumul-  abandonment until the Cul-  definitely  be  included  into
            unused) in many ways and  tower was named after the  tuous  past,  including  the  tural Center Aruba Founda-       your itinerary.
            have  survived  eras  of  war  then-reigning  king  of  The  on-and-off  reception  of  tion (CCA) petitioned for its  The museum  is  open Mon-
            and  attempted  disman-      Netherlands,  Willem  III.  Wil-  unwanted members of the  renovation  in  1964,  turning  day  to  Friday  from  9am-
            tling.                       lem  III  Toren  was  originally  English military several times  the site into the Historic Mu-  6pm,  and  Saturday  from
                                         a light tower, but after a re-  (The  Netherlands  was  at  seum it currently is.      10am-2pm.q
            When anyone refers to Fort  quest from Lieutenant Gov-    constant war with England  Despite  its  small  size,  The
            Zoutman,  they  are  actu-   ernor Jan Helenus in 1866, it  back in the colonial era).   Historic  Museum  guards  a    Source: The Old Fort of Aruba
            ally  referring  to  two  sepa-  also became a bell tower.    Over  the  years,  both  the  rich depository of the com-          by Jan Hartog.
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