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The revenues of the government and the growth of wealth in the community in general created new possibilities to build. But this was very often not to the advantage of the urban layout and the traditional architecture of Willemstad. Money is a very dangerous guide, especially when it is accompanied by the need for status and poor taste.

Two aspects of the developments after the establishment of “Shell” should be mentioned.

To start with, the more well-to-do citizens escaped the city, leaving their houses and other buildings to deteriorate through lack of maintenance.
This exodus already started in 1935. One of the first houses to be built outside Willemstad is the beautiful mansion, with art deco elements, that stands at the corner of the Groot Kwartierweg and Schottegatweg. It was built in 1935.
Unfortunately this fine example of grandeur and good taste was not followed. In that same period (1936) “Shell” started to build bungalows for its personnel at Groot Kwartier, Rio Canario and in the forties, in Julianadorp. These were built following the example of the houses “Shell” had previously constructed in Indonesia. This introduced a new type of architecture the so-called "porch houses". These "porch houses" proliferated on the island after the example set by “Shell”. Although very plain, from an architectural point of view, these houses were well adapted to the tropics.

Secondly, I should mention the influence of the modernization process that was ignited by the growing economic wealth. This very often resulted in the demolition of buildings that could have been preserved, but were nevertheless replaced by so called modern architecture, that only in very few cases showed creativeness by the designer, "if” there were real, professional designers involved. There are plenty examples of this kind of poor architecture.

In my opinion the watershed in the building tradition should be put in 1930. From then on all kinds of elements that had distinguished the architecture of the past gradually disappeared. One example is the white elements that framed the houses. White lines framed the roofs and the gutter was hidden behind a broad frame that was also painted white. In many cases white pilasters on both sides marked the front.

The exodus from the city led to the development of suburban bungalows on spacious plots of land. The last developments give rise to the suspicion that most people building in the new areas that surround the city are guided more by status aspirations than esthetic considerations. The houses show a clear example of conspicuous consumption and lack of balance. At the moment about two-thirds of the population are living in the surroundings of Willemstad.

Reversing a Process of Deterioration
The picture I gave above of the historic development of Willemstad is far from complete. I hope that, nevertheless, I succeeded in making it clear why some people were worried about the future of this beautiful city. Newton once remarked that it took Willemstad three centuries to develop into what it was forty years ago and only three decades to deteriorate to such an extent that quick action was necessary. Action was taken. In 1991 the so-called "Monumenten Plan" was launched and renewed again in 2001.

Looking at Willemstad now (June 2002) I think that we, although we didn’t succeeded completely in our endeavor, we did succeed in starting a reversed development. Recent developments the the city quarters Otrobanda and Scharloo are very impressive. There still remains a lot to be done. In this perspective it is satisfying to see the cooperation between the different the entities working in this is growing.

More and more people are becoming conscious of their cultural patrimony, a pride that does not limit itself to the big houses in Willemstad, or the so called "landhouses" in the countryside, but includes also the inhabitants of humble dwellings.
Pride in our cultural heritage is growing and this is the best guarantee for the preservation of Willemstad as a unique site in the Caribbean, that deserves to be on the World Heritage List of Unesco.

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