The event brought together representatives from county, city, and state government as well as partner organizations, corporate citizens, philanthropists, and community members whose public and private works transformed the decrepit shell of the Gonzalez-Montemayor home at 810 Zaragoza Street into a museum that has showcased many of the WCHF’s outstanding exhibits and events that feature the history and culture of the bi-national border region.
Once scheduled for demolition after extensive fire damage, the handsome red-brick structure stands as a prime example of downtown economic revitalization through historic preservation.
Speakers at the commemorative event included Congressman Henry Cuellar, Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina, former Webb County Judge Mercurio Martinez Jr., and former Webb County Commissioner Judith Gutierrez.
The two-story Italianate-style building — once home to two early Laredo merchant families — enjoys a pivotal location on the banks of the Río Grande and is representative of the grand houses that populated the San Agustín District in the early twentieth century. It is located in proximity to many of the city’s historic landmarks and is immediately east of San Agustín Cathedral and San Agustín Plaza, which dates to 1767.
Abandoned and neglected for many years, the home survived numerous fires and attempts aimed at its demolition. The WCHF orchestrated the rescue of the building, which was eligible for The National Register of Historic Places. In 2002, the WCHF and the County of Webb acquired the home and undertook plans for its historic rehabilitation. The restoration design architects were Viviana Frank and Frank Rotnofsky of Frank Architects. Zertuche Construction was awarded the construction and restoration contract. Construction began in May 2005 and was completed in December 2006.
The International Bank of Commerce gave the WCHF a $100,000 donation for the construction of a parking lot adjacent to the Villa Antigua Museum.
Other contributors to the restoration of the Gonzalez-Montemayor home were the City of Laredo, the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation, the Texas Historical Commission, the D.D. Hachar Charitable Trust, the Special Anonymous Angel, Bill Skeen, Margaret Shaw, the Union Pacific Foundation, the SBC Foundation, and La Posada Hotel.
As part of the museum’s 10-year celebration, the foundation recognized the local photographers whose images form the 2017 Historic Laredo Calendar. Prizes were awarded to the top three winning entries — Albert Vasquez for storefronts along Hidalgo Street (first place); Rosa Elena Moreno (second place) for a train crossing the Río Grande; and Ann Macdonald (third place) for a rusted pump jack in a thicket of South Texas brush near Mirando City. Finalists who were recognized included Cesar Gabriel Gomez, Eugene Ruiz, Jacqueline Renée Hammond, Ivonne Lopez, Josué Reyes, Rosa María Vidaurri, Francisco Mendoza, Mary Prevost, John Davila, and Ana Torres.
