In the first half of the 20th century, Oranjestad did not really have much of a port office to speak of. In the Commander’s Building, dating back to the 19th century and demolished in 1950, there was one room where the Harbor Master had his office, but where parts for the pilot boats were guarded as well. This dusty and by times moist locale was not a good place to store documents. And not very representative either.

As the activities in the port started to grow, so did the need to construct a real port office. In 1940, the Department of Public Works started the construction of this building, overlooking the Bay of Horses (Paardenbaai), just in front of the ‘Waf di Rey’ (the King’s Pier).

The building once stood opposite the car park and bus station, next to the Oranjestad Police Ward. Those have had to make place for the construction of the Sonesta Hotel (now Renaissance Resort) in the 1980’s.

In the new building, the Harbor Master had to share space with the pilot service, customs officials and the fire brigade, which could store two fire trucks inside the the north side of the building. Two double garage doors were reconstructed during the renovation of 2014. The top floor was originally used as lookout post.

In the 1950’s, the port office moved to a bigger building on the harbor terrain. The Tourist Bureau then moved into the empty port office, followed by other government departments in the course of the decades.

There have been structural changes to this building over time, as the pictures show.

A lot of buildings on the Oranjestad water front have disappeared, but the former port office is still standing; it is now dwarfed by the huge Renaissance Resort Marina Tower.

This unremarkable small building has witnessed so many changes in the port’s development, of vital importance for the island.