The office of Notary Yarzagaray-Bodeker & Partners, had just completed the total renovation and restoration of L.G. Smith 12, a historical building, originally the political headquarters of Juancho Yrausquin and later, for many years, the home of Miles Administration, owned by the late hotelier Ike Cohen.
Notary Yarzagaray who purchased the building from Cohen spearheaded the project of renovation and restoration studying Antillean architecture and collecting information regarding the efforts made in Scharloo, Willemstad, Curacao.
Having completed the project, the building now serves Notary Yarzagaray-Bodeker & Partners, as a second location, in addition to L.G. Smith 20.
L.G. Smith 12 is presently a gem of Caribbean architecture featuring many typical colonial elements including French doors, louvered windows, polished wood floors, vintage lighting fixtures, color glass vitrages, and plantation wall and ceiling moldings on the inside.
On the outside, painted a cheerful shade of yellow the building shows off Dutch gables, a colonnade with porticos, and rows of potted flowering plants.
Every detail, down to the ornamental gates and garden walls, are true to the original colonial building style. “I knew we could not bulldoze this monument,” says the Notary, “it had to be restored to its own former grandeur, and given a total facelift.”
The building is also nicely decorated. The white walls in the marble tiled foyer display art by the late Juancho Dijkhoff, one of the pieces finished after his passing by artist Elvis Tromp. Several works by Eliza Lejuez grace the office walls, all themed around the renovation of the property.
Many original features were preserved such as the typical Dutch wooden staircase leading to the second floor, constructed in the early 1940s, the colorful mosaic floor tiles, and plaster-of Paris corridors, the style of the old Delft Blue inspired kitchen was reproduced paired with modern bathrooms.
We wish the firm success in its new location, L.G. Smith 12 is certainly something to be very proud of.
