Farias family, LNB, Frank Architects move to bring veterans museum to fruition

 

By Katherine Eissler

 

Plans are underway to convert a significant Laredo landmark, the historic downtown home of former mayor Juan Francisco Farias, into a museum for Laredo veterans and war heroes. The old home also served as a rendezvous point for leaders of the Benavides regiment during the Civil War.

Laredo veterans are looking forward to a museum that not only houses their history, personal stories, medals, and memorabilia, but also educates the public about the sacrifices of service men and women.

The Farias family sold the quarter-million dollar property at 400 San Bernardo to the Laredo Veterans Coalition for $100,000. The Laredo National Bank aided the coalition with a low-interest loan.

The Veterans Coalition has plans to relocate its offices from St. Patrick's Church to the Farias home.

“It's a shame that the house has sat empty for so long, but there are so many restrictions put on restoring an old building like this,” said Richard Geissler.

Gary Jacobs, president of LNB, which has been at the forefront of honoring Laredo veterans with a flag park, said the real heroes in the effort to establish the museum are members of the Farias family.

“We can never do enough for veterans -- Washington never does enough for veterans,” said Jacobs.

The Coalition plans to cover the cost of the note from rents collected from other tenants at 400 San Bernardo . The Coalition will have to raise about $600,000 to rehabilitate the structure in compliance with plans approved by the City's Historical Commission, which oversees restorations for buildings of this vintage.

Frank Architects has generously donated its design services to the Coalition. The company tries to take on one pro bono job a year for a project that has significance for the community, said Frank Architects associate Eduardo Quiroga.

“It is our turn to serve the veterans,” said Quiroga. He added that the proposed museum would likely attract Laredoans of all ages, as well as tourists, to the downtown area.

“Once the preliminary budgeting and fundraising is complete, we will base our project on that and correlate to their needs,” said Quiroga.

The Veterans Coalition receives only a small amount of money from city and county entities to help destitute veterans and their families with housing, food, and clothing expenses. The Coalition will look to fundraising and petitioning for assistance from federal agencies to reach the $600,000 restoration fund goal.

Once the restoration is complete, the Coalition will begin accepting donations from former service men and women who have already expressed a desire to include their personal war memorabilia in the museum's collection.

“Vets have artifacts at their homes that they want to donate,” said Hector Farias, a descendant of Juan Francisco Farias. “The government will probably be helpful in securing these artifacts, too.”

Upon the sale of the building, the Farias family made a few stipulations -- one, that the museum bear the name of Juan Francisco Farias, the original owner of the home; two, that the museum is dedicated solely for the use of veterans; three, that there will be an advisory committee to oversee the rehabilitation and reconstruction; and four, that there will always be a Farias family member on the advisory committee.

Farias expressed concern for the more than 7,000 veterans in Webb County who rely on social security for subsistence.

Veterans Coalition president James Rendon said the facility, apart from being a museum, will service old veterans as well as new ones and will provide space for all veterans' organizations that need a home base to hold their meetings.

“There is a lot of history behind the veterans in Laredo ,” said Rendon. “This project has been made possible only by the kindness of the Farias family and LNB, who gave us a tremendous offer.”