Members of the public got to look inside Commissioner's House, Bermuda's most important 19th century building, during an open day on Saturday when it was officially dedicated by Premier Jennifer Smith.

The ceremony marks the culmination of 25 years of dreaming and hard-work by staff at the Maritime Museum who have longed to open the jewel in the crown of their Dockyard complex.

But the building, the world's first cast iron framed house, will not be fully open until July when contractors complete work on some of the rooms.

The $7 million refurbishment of the Commissioner's House was paid for by corporate and private donations.

When it opens in July it will have five themed rooms, dedicated to 150 years of the Portuguese in Bermuda; Slavery in Bermuda; the Island's links to the North American and West Indies slave trade; the Newport to Bermuda boat race; and paintings of the Island and North American by crew of the HMS Vindictive , who included Francis Austin, the brother of the English novelist Jane Austin.

Commissioner's House was built in 1823 by English and Irish convicts and slaves to house the Royal Navy Commissioner.

The post was held by a civilian who ran Dockyard at a time when the Navy was developing Bermuda as the Gibraltar of the Atlantic.

By the 1860s the building was taken over for military purposes, but it was abandoned in 1952 when the Royal Navy pulled out of the Island.

The building suffered terrible internal damage due to the weather because people were allowed to strip the lead flashing from the roof.

Much of the cast iron frame oxidised, many internal walls collapsed, and much of the house's magnificent mahogany on the ground floor rotted away.

During restoration, some of the cast iron was replaced with wrought iron and sealed into the beams to make them water-tight.

Maritime Museum Chairman Paul Leseur said: "We restored quite a lot of the mahogany on the upper floor but on the ground floor we had to replace most of it.'' The Premier and members of the Cabinet joined 220 guests for dinner on Saturday after the dedication ceremony.

Mr. Leseur said: "It was a tremendous show. Everyone was just bowled over by the building.

"It was very, very active. We were very pleased by the numbers of locals and visitors who turned out.

"We wanted to dedicate the house during Heritage Month, but work remains to sand and finish the floors before it will be finally open.

"The Museum is in its 25th year and everybody has just congratulated us on getting to here. Everyone was taken away by the beauty of the mahogany and the beauty of the building.

"I've worked for the last 13 years on this and I've very pleased to see it brought to this stage.''