The Maritime Museum Curaçao is located in a historical landmark situated on Scharloo Abou historic district. Facing the floating market with its lively quays and overlooking the waters of Sint Anna Bay and Waaigat, the building is a key element in the townscape of Willemstad as a historic port town.

Still called Hotel Venezuela by the citizens of Willemstad, memorizing its latest use, the building originally was a large house built in the typical 18th century architectural style of the Curaçao country estates. The original open arched gallery on the ground floor, the dormers on the ridged roof and the elegantly curved end façades topped by pinnacles are typical 18th century features of Curaçao Baroque architecture. 19th Century additions are the pronaus, the classicist portico alongside the Werfstraat and the quoins on the corners of the building.

In 1988 a fire destroyed Hotel Venezuela, leaving the building in a derelict condition in the following years. Recognizing its value, the Curaçao Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation acquired the severely decayed remnants and set up a consolidation and reconstruction scheme. In 1996 reconstruction works started. Within the reconstructed envelope featuring the former historical architectural elements, the newly designed interior is of a strictly modern knit.

Once a large house and hotel, the reconstructed building now houses the Maritime Museum which opened its doors in December 1998. Former Hotel Venezuela is an excellent example of a successful adaptable re-use of an historic building.

Source: Stichting Monumentenzorg Curaçao