Mayor's Residence / Ambtswoning

House with the Columns, Herengracht 502 in Amsterdam, is the mayor's residence. In the 17th century Paulus Godin (1618-1690) lived here. He was governor of WIC (West India Company) and also of the colony 'Society of Surinam'. He was member of commissions like 'Coasts of Africa' and 'Slavery Business'. His name is found on a 1677 WIC contract for the delivery of 1600 to 1800 slaves to Curaçao, to be shipped onto the Spanish West Indies. He became very wealthy, proven by this house. In 2006 a marker was placed by the front door, saying "As long as memory lives, they did not die in vain" and "Slave trade and slavery are crimes against humanity"

The Martin Luther King statue stood for a solid 6 weeks next to the marker, almost like guarding it, and then disappeared. Stolen? A few weeks later the statue appeared to be in the garden of the Mayor's Residence, an awesome discovery.