The ground floor of Aura Winkel used to house Bermuda night club and more recently a gym. At the moment we are looking for serious and creative entrepreneurs who dare to re-envision what is possible here. It can be used for a variety of commercial purposes, like retail, hospitality, care & wellness and the art & culture sector.

The grounds are accessible from the Scharlooweg or Waaigat. There is a large, paved yard on the Scharlooweg side of the building and a charming little patio on the side of the Movies, with original mosaic tiles and lace woodworking. There is a concrete stage and bar in the yard that could be used for events. On property there is are restrooms and shower rooms available.

The great room is flanked by a former gallery on both sides and connects the front yard to the patio. The west side of the building is devoted to supporting spaces, like restrooms, kitchen and storage. The other large room is to the east of the patio. It has a beautiful wooden floor and a lot of natural light. There is also some office and storage space on this side.

We are renting the ground floor of Aura Winkel as a separate unit, but it is also possible to rent it together with the two floors above and / or the bar / restaurant area to the side, which was once the first TuTuTango Bar.

History

The first building activity on this plot dates back between 1729 and 1745. At that time there is a house with a few annexes, a water reservoir, a coach house, horse stables a pond and a ‘playa’, which is a coral stone square where the laundry would be laid out to dry in the sun. It is likely that the mentioned house is a previous version of the one that occupies the spot today.

Who lived there

The building was one of many owned by the protestant family Winkel, who were originally from Otrobanda. Aura Winkel was the last person from the family to occupy this house. Her grandparents, ‘Papa Chan’ and ‘Ma Eni’ lived with their 11 children in the mansion next door, which was demolished in the 1960s to make space for the access road to the Juliana bridge. This neo-classical house with pilasters and a little watch tower was originally built with the floorplan of a traditional plantation house, although no longer recognizable as such. The family Winkel painted all their properties oxblood red, supposedly as one of the forefathers once won the lottery with a red or pink lottery ticket.

The restoration

The Curaçao Heritage Foundation took over the care of this building in 1991. The house was restored as well as the additional buildings on the property. Old pictures of the interior reveal traditional high-end living. Decorative woodwork adorns the patio below as well as one of the living spaces upstairs. The house was furnished with valuable Curaçao antiques.

Since its restoration the building has hosted a variety of ventures, from a restaurant to a night club and from plain offices to an art gallery. Famous tenants have included Area 1850, Club Bermuda and in one of the outbuildings the first TuTuTango. The former living quarters of Manita Winkel on the top two floors are quiet today, waiting patiently for the next chapter in their history to unfold. Who will fall in love with it and what activities will they develop here? The story of our heritage remains in constant motion.