Description
The first house in this location was built before 1787 and was owned by a free mulatto named Jeck. According to a date on the façade, the current building was constructed in 1857. Eleven years later, Johannes Paulus Rib purchased the house from Andries Jacobus Lambertus. Carpenter Rib, born into slavery in 1809, bought his freedom in 1842 and subsequently built a comfortable life for himself. He also owned Landhuis Papaya for some time. In 1879, his widow sold the building to merchant Raphael Namias de Castro.
In 2009, the building faced a severe risk of collapse. Stichting Monumentenzorg Curaçao intervened with emergency support and corrugated roofing sheets. After securing the building, they persuaded the owner to sell it to them. A full restoration is planned for the coming years, and the project will integrate this property with the neighboring Gasthuisstraat 12 and Villa Malakoff at number 14 – 16.
Name of property:
None
Characteristics:
A detached two-and-a-half story corner structure. Gable roof with dormers over core area and adjoining slant roof over side gallery. Funnel-shaped gables with 19th-century top end and oculus in star-shaped plasterwork. The front façade is laid out with a window in the gable top, two windows on the first floor, and two doors on the ground floor. Marble tablet above the left door with the inscription ‘1857’and ‘361’.
Monument value:
Architectural historical and cultural-historical value because of a.o. the 19th-century gables and the floor plan typical of Curaçao. Specific value as part of a protected monumental townscape.
Construction period:
19th Century






