Page 18 - AHATA

Saturday 24 May 2025 locAl
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Monuments in Oranjestad: Town House and Cas Veneranda

(Oranjestad)—If you’ve
ever taken a stroll through
main street Oranjestad,
you may have stumbled
upon a big green house
with beautiful colonial de-
sign. This legendary house,
now used as a town hall for
civil marriages, was once
owned by a wealthy doctor
and formed part of the elite
neighborhood in Oranjes-
tad.
ter the death of Jacobo,
Jacobo Eloy Arends was the house was inherited by
an Aruban physician, and his son, an Aruban dentist,
in lived in Oranjestad dur- who converted Jacobo’s
ing the 1920s. In 1922, he office into his own dental
married Maria Monica practice. Over the years,
Lacle, the daughter of well- the house was rented and
known business man at the used by third parties, but
time, Adriaan Lacle. The eventually fell into disre-
two lived a posh life in the pair, as the maintenance
city center, and their man- cost became too high to
sion—once the center for cover.
neighborhood parties— Aruban government an-
now serves as a public The land was sold to Land nounced its official resto-
town hall for civil marriages Aruba in 1986, but it did not ration last year, with the
and is a cultural monument see a renovation until 1997. most recent renovations
on the island. Nowadays, it serves to host including the roof. In col-
weddings, and is attached laboration with the Aruban
The house was designed to a modern building situ- government, the goal is to
by architect Chibi Wever, ated behind—the Aruban convert this monument into
and constructed under the census office. a governmental office and
leadership of famous mas- public space for visitors of
ter carpenter, Dada Picus, Jacobo and Maria’s man- Oranjestad.q
who was famous at the sion was situated in front
time for his construction of of another famous man- Source and pictures credited
beautiful buildings. sion, owned by Jacobo’s to: “De Kolibrie op de Rots (en
meer over the geschiedenis
brother Frederico Maxi- van Aruba)” by Evert Bongers.
The construction of the miliaan (Machi) Arends. Some pictures provided by the
house started once Jacobo Frederico was married to Monument Fund of Aruba.
and Maria got engaged. It Veneranda (whom the
is said that during the time mansion was named after).
of construction, Maria was Their house was also con-
not allowed to see the structed by Dada Picus, uti-
building nor be anywhere lizing Veneranda’s design
near the construction site. vision that was inspired by
It wasn’t until after her hon- a house she saw in Carta-
eymoon that she saw the gena, Colombia.
completed mansion for the
first time, furnished entirely tained the doctor’s office, Nowadays, this mansion
by her sisters-in-law. The mansion also con- as well as a pharmacy. Af- lies in ruins. However, the

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