Curaçao - Adventure Guide to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - page 227

restored in Punda's commercial section. Some of the large homes built in
Pietermaai have been restored as well, and the Curaçao Tourism Develop-
ment Bureau is located in a lovely yellow and white 18th-century mansion
at Pietermaaiweg #19.
Otrobanda (the other side) is, of course, on the opposite side of St. Anna
Bay. Restricted building permits were given for the area as early as 1707,
but regulations limited development to warehouses and small shops with
living quarters on the second level. Citizens saw little merit in these stipu-
lations since land was plentiful on the other side, so they ignored the laws
and set about building large homes for themselves, similar to those built
by wealthy landowners in the roomy countryside.
Unlike Punda, where city planning resulted in perpendicular streets and
uniform architecture, Otrobanda became a village of narrow streets and
tight alleyways twisting capriciously from the waterfront through the
commercial areas and out to the residential neighborhoods. Within 70
years, 300 homes spread across the district, and it had as many shops,
warehouses, and offices as Punda.
After emancipation, free slaves moved into the area and built houses and
small businesses, some on property that was originally the garden of a
large estate. Other ethnic groups were attracted to the other side as well,
and soon the district was a thriving middle-class community of many
nationalities and cultures. It remains so today.
Brionplein (Brion Plaza) is the centerpiece of Otrobanda's waterfront.
It is named for Pedro Luis Brión, a citizen of Curaçao, who fought with
Simón Bolivar for Latin American independence. Many of Otrobanda's
lovely restored homes are noted as childhood residences of the islands'
honored politicians, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs. Parts of the dis-
trict are still rundown and waiting for renovation funds, but the breezy
alleyways lead past magnificent examples of Dutch colonial architecture.
Unquestionably, the best
restoration is Kurá
Hulanda (Dutch yard).
It's the imaginative work
of Dutchman Jacob Gelt
Dekker and his American
business partner, John
Padget. Their hands-on
philanthropy has trans-
formed an entire section
of Otrabanda's dilapi-
dated slum, known as the
Iron Quarter, into a mag-
nificently renovated his-
torical district - the best example of Dutch colonial architecture in the
Caribbean.