City Hall (also: Eloy Arends House;

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: ''Stadhuis'') is home to the

civil registration Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in differen ...

Oranjestad, Aruba Oranjestad ( , , ; literally "Orange City") is the capital and largest city of Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language ...

. The building used to be a doctor's office and residential home of Eloy Arends. Aruba is only subdivided in regions and zones for administrative and statistical purposes, therefore, it is not a

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

defined as the seat of municipal government. The city hall is used for civil registrations, passports and marriages.

History

Jacobo Eloy Maria Arends was a medical doctor in Aruba. In 1922, he announced his engagement with Maria Monica Laclé. According to tradition, a house was constructed for the couple prior to the marriage. The house was built on a lot in the centre of Oranjestad. The architect was Chibi Wever and the design was influenced by South American Neo-Baroque. In 1925, the couple married, and Laclé was allowed to see the house. The house uses

sliding door A sliding door is a type of door which opens horizontally by sliding, usually horizontal to a wall. Sliding doors can be mounted either on top of a track below or be suspended from a track above. Some types slide into a space in the parallel w ...

s to allow for flexible usage of the interior space. Stadhuis ( City Hall ) Inside (2), Oranjestad, ARUBA

In 1960, Arends died, and the house became property of his son Jesus Eloy Arends. At first it was used as a dentist's office. Later, it was in use as restaurant, but became vacant in 1980 in a neglected state. In 1985, it served as the headquarters of

People's Electoral Movement The People's Electoral Movement (''Movimiento Electoral del Pueblo'', MEP) is a left-wing political party in Venezuela, founded in 1967 by Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa. The MEP was founded after Prieto Figueroa won the 1967 Acción Democráti ...

(MEP), In January 1988, it was sold to the

Government of Aruba Politics of Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic country, whereby the governor in his capacity as the King's representative is the ''de jure'' head o ...

. The purchase of the house was controversial, and the renovation was postponed. In the meantime, it became used by homeless people. In 1993, a fire severely damaged the building. In 1997, the Eloy Arends House was restored, and became home to the

. In 1999, ownership was transferred to the . In 2014, another major restoration took place. The City Hall also developed in a popular place for tourists to get married.

References

{{Buildings in Aruba Buildings and structures in Oranjestad, Aruba Monuments of Aruba Baroque Revival architecture