Brownsville Preservation Society Q2 2017

ISSUE NO. 2

FEATURES

QUARTER 2

LOCAL HISTORY Daniel Montes Trey Mendez reflects on Danny’s contributions to local masonry.

2017

PROJECT CORNER

Get updates on our latest news, including upcoming grants, programs, and projects.

SPOTLIGHT ON WORKS SANITARIUM

BY TREY MENDEZ Did you know there used to be a hospital on West Levee Street? Well now you do. The Works Sanitarium, built in 1909, once served patients in West Brownsville. Dr. B.O. Works, a renowned physician, opened the hospital with the intent of providing quality care and service to the citizens of Brownsville.

The architecture and construction firm of Archer & Archer built the structure, which features beautiful California siding and an open porch. Archer and Archer was active in Brownsville from 1908 until April 1910. The broad, flat roof and dormer-eaves of the Sanitarium and the wrap-around gallery on the northeast street front and southeast side of the two-story building are characteristics associated with the bungalow.

and obstetrical rooms. It had both hot and cold water and took advantage of the prevailing southeast Gulf breeze for optimal ventilation.

A look at a brochure provided to BPS from the Works family stated that the Works Sanitarium “aims to be a sanitary home where the best of trained services and equipment are at hand for the treatment of the sick.” It boasted a location in West Brownsville, which was becoming “the most desirable residential section of Brownsville.” Further, only graduate nurses “of the best schools” were employed. The Sanitarium had an ambulance service, surely impressive during that era, as well as private rooms, associate rooms, operating rooms

Situated on three city lots with plenty of green space, the structure is still a sight to behold, and has been given a facelift in recent years. The current owners hired Fernando Balli, a local contractor and preservationist, to bring the sanitarium back to its former prominence. Balli has repaired the upper balcony railing, as well as other woodwork and trim. The structure was also recently painted, breathing much needed life back into the surrounding neighborhood.

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Undated postcard of Works Sanitarium.

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BROWNSVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

LOCAL HISTORY

DANNY MONTES GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

BY TREY MENDEZ Up until his passing in January of last year, whenever anyone had a question related to brick, or needed specialized masonry work on a historic structure, there was only one person to call: Daniel Montes.

As Brownsville’s resident brick expert for almost 90 years, Danny had all the answers.

His family was involved in the construction of some of Brownsville’s jewels, including the 1912 Courthouse (a/k/a Dancy Building) and the beautifully restored Bollack Building.

Danny’s father was a master mason and his grandfather was a master woodworker. Clearly, the apple did not fall far from the tree. Though many people in town knew him as the “brick guy”, others knew him for his decorated stint in the Navy during World War II, which included being on the front lines of the 1945 Okinawa invasion.

Asked to describe the invasion for a local new station, Danny responded: “There was a lot of planes flying all over, but we were so busy, we didn’t know what happened. In the books now, they tell us how serious it was. But when you’re in action, you’re too busy defending yourself.” After the war was over, Montes returned to Brownsville and continued the family tradition.

Photo of Danny Montes taken by Brad Doherty for The Brownsville Herald (November 2015).

When it came to brickwork and masonry, he had a surgeon’s touch and wasn’t afraid of climbing a ladder or

carrying heavy stone, despite his age. Mentally, he was as sharp as a tack. He was also an avid dancer, which may have accounted for his youthful vigor and wonderful physical health. Those fortunate enough to hear him talk about his craft or see him work with brick knew they were in the presence of a master. Danny was one of the few who knew how to blend mortar in the same method used in the late 19th century, having shared the “recipe” with a few lucky preservationists. Not only was he the best at what he did, but he truly enjoyed it.

To understand Danny’s value and impact on Brownsville, one doesn’t need to look further than the historic district of our great city. Among the properties he helped preserve during his lifetime were the Old City Cemetery, the Lady of Visitation Church in Santa Maria (1882), the Alonzo Building (1890), the Cueto Building (1892), the Pacheco Building (1893), and the Sacred Heart Church (1913).

Danny lived to the ripe old age of 93, but was still working within a year of his passing. Though he claimed to be retired during the last few years of his life, he never refused a historical renovation project. Some of his last jobs were a brick restoration project on the exterior walls of the old county jail building on 12th and Madison Street (1883) and the restoration of an original brick wall behind the IBC Bank building on Elizabeth Street. Danny Montes left a mark that will last for generations to come.

From his infectious smile and love for life, to his flair for dancing, he made those around him happy. In an era of technology, Danny possessed a gift that could not be replicated by any machine. Though he was small in stature, his contributions to Brownsville will stand forever tall. He was one of a kind.

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LOCAL HISTORY

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WORKS SANITARIUM

DANNY MONTES

Dr. Works left a lasting legacy in Brownsville that is still very visible. Aside from the Sanitarium, Dr. Works had a home a couple blocks away, on the first block of West Levee, as well as beautiful property tucked away on several acres just off Boca Chica Boulevard. The property, known as Ebony Haven, is in the early stages of a full rehabilitation to the main home. Though the West Levee properties were sold many years ago, Ebony Haven is still in the custody and control of the Works family, and will host our next BPS meeting on July 11th.

Danny was preceded in death by his wife, Caroline Wightman, whom he met at an ice-cream parlor and married in 1946. They had six children together. Special thanks to some of Danny’s family members who contributed information and photographs for this article.

Special thanks to BPS member Laurie Works, who contributed various documents and photos, as well as a narrative on the architectural history written by Stephen Fox, an architectural historian and well-known lecturer at the Rice School of Architecture.

Undated family photo of Danny in his naval uniform.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Barrera, D. (2012, September 11). WWII U.S. Navy veteran honored on 9/11. Retrieved June 15, 2017, from http://valleycentral.com/news/local/wwii-us-navy-veteranhonored-on-911

Undated photo, by Robert Runyon.

Channel 5 News reporter Letty Fernandez highlights Danny’s work on the Alonso Building and Architect Ruiz’s.

Video from UTB/TSC published to YouTube (January 28, 2016). Retrieved June 24, 2017 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI263hZSnuA Clark, S. (2015, November 7). Navy veteran remembers 1945 Okinawa invasion. The Brownsville Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2017, from http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_ef9cc 092-85c7-11e5-a030-7390b8188d41.html Wightman-Cervantes, B. (2016, February 1). “Tribute Daniel Montes” (video). Retrieved June 15, 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9U96dT23Sk

Newspaper clipping from The Brownsville Daily Herald, September 23, 1909, announces the opening of the sanitarium.

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BROWNSVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

PROJECTS

PROJECT CORNER CABOOSE AT LINEAR PARK During their June 6, 2017 meeting, City Commissioners authorized funding for restoration of the caboose in partnership with BPS under its existing MOU with the City of Brownsville. Initial efforts will focus on restoration of the outside of the train car and

rehabilitation of its interior. Other considerations could address an overhead shelter, the accompanying weigh station, the platform on which the caboose sits, including the underlying tracks and scale, as well as how the historic train car might be repurposed.

Photos courtesy of Trey Mendez.

FUNDRAISER WITH JACK GILMORE Save the date! BPS is excited to announce we will be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, September 16th with Austin’s celebrated chef and restauranteur Jack Gilmore, owner of Jack Allen’s Kitchen and Salt Traders Coastal Cooking. Gilmore, a Brownsville native, is an enthusiastic supporter of our mission. Jack is also the author of Jack Allen’s Kitchen: Celebrating the Tastes of Texas and will have copies of his book available at the event. Trey Mendez had the pleasure of touring Mr. Gilmore around our historic city, including St. Charles street which he likened to New Orleans. Please email us if you are interested in serving on the event committee.

PRESERVATION MATTERS PROGRAM BPS recently applied for a Promotion and Community Event grant through Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation to fund Preservation Matters, an educational and public awareness campaign to promote local preservation through initiatives to foster heritage tourism in Brownsville by highlighting existing historic structures. Funds would go towards yard signs for historic homes, newspaper advertisements with “how to” information, and website creation.

DIGEST

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TERMS TO KNOW

BY SHANNON PENSA Our last Preservation Digest provided an overview of how the modern historic preservation movement evolved. This time let’s focus on words like “rehab” and “restore,” which are often used interchangeably, but in historic terms are more distinct.

The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties are reprinted below.

These four standards serve as guidelines for all federal and state historic properties.

1. PRESERVATION focuses on the maintenance and repair of existing historic materials and retention of a property's form as it has evolved over time.

2. REHABILITATION acknowledges the need to alter or add to a historic property to meet continuing or changing uses while retaining the property's historic character.

3. RESTORATION depicts a property at a particular period of time in its history, while removing evidence of other periods.

4. RECONSTRUCTION re-creates vanished or nonsurviving portions of a property for interpretive purposes.

The sticky part is how to apply these guidelines to determine the most suitable treatment for an historic building or property because there are several interrelated factors to be considered. Not the least of which is how is it historically important or significant?

Perhaps something of historical interest took place there, or it was built by a notable figure, making the structure a candidate for rehab.

The current physical condition must also be examined to determine the appropriate treatment. For example, full restoration of an historic space could be too challenging, as neglect may have taken too high a toll. Often the original building materials and fixtures are lost to history or to previous renovations made to the structure.

Another crucial consideration is how the property be used. Frequently old buildings are repurposed and given new life: a house might be rehabilitated as an office or reconstructed as a museum. Think “adaptive reuse.”

Lastly, there are practical considerations for which federal, state and local codes might apply. Policies and mandates apply to old and new structures, especially safety standards and accessibility guidelines.

CONTINUE READING

Four Approaches to the Treatment of Historic Properties—Technical Preservation Services, National Park Service. (n.d.).

Retrieved June 18, 2017 from https://www.nps.gov/tps/standards/four-treatments.htm Buildings and Property, Texas Historical Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2017 from http://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/buildings-and-property

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BROWNSVILLE PRESERVATION SOCIETY

PARK DAY

PARK DAY 2017 BPS was proud to support Park Day 2017, an annual event coordinated by the Civil War Trust to preserve battlefields.

Several of our members showed up on Saturday, April 1st to volunteer for trash pickup along the road adjacent to Palmito Ranch Battlefield National Historic Landmark. Volunteers received t-shirts for their efforts and listened to informational presentations given by the Palo Alto Battlefield Park Rangers, Texas Historic Commission, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We look forward to next year’s Park Day.

The Brownsville Preservation Society of Brownsville, Texas is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting and restoring structures within the city’s historic districts. Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

CONTACT US MAILING ADDRESS: PO Box 1072, Brownsville, TX 78522 EMAIL: brownsvillepreservationsociety@gmail.com FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/brownsvillepreservationsociety WORDPRESS: https://brownsvillepreservation.wordpress.com INSTAGRAM: brownsvillepreservationsociety TWITTER: @PreserveBrownsv