The restoration begins
By Dr. Roberto Juarez, Ph.D.
With the blessing of Bishop James Tamayo and the Diocese of Laredo, the St. Augustine School Alumni Association has launched its effort to restore the historic three-story St. Augustine School structure adjacent to San Agustín Cathedral. Built in 1927 -- replete with many architectural details that bespeak the time in which it was built -- the brown brick edifice at the corner of Grant and San Agustín enjoyed a half-century of service in Catholic education. Among those details are a beautiful old auditorium that features a rounded front stage, wooden floors, and a pressed tin ceiling. The school structure has sat in various stages of relative abandonment since the campus was moved to the Ursuline School campus in the Heights in 1977. In its apogee, the downtown St. Augustine campus served as a first-rate, first-through-twelfth-grade parochial school. Its elegant and well-equipped auditorium served not only the school, but also the community. The Sisters of Divine Providence, who made their home in the third story of the school, quickly acquired a reputation for excellence in education. St. Augustine School became fully accredited in 1937. Bursting at the seams with close to 800 students, the Sisters moved from the third floor to the Martín García home on Zaragoza Street in 1948 to provide more space and additional classrooms for music and homemaking classes.
After the disastrous flood of 1954, the parishioners of San Agustín and the people of Laredo built a modern convent in appreciation of the Sisters' untiring efforts. By 1960 they moved into a new modern building, and the school auditorium was converted into a gymnasium with shower rooms, enlarged rest rooms and a cafeteria. When St. Joseph Academy closed its doors in 1973, St . Augustine School saw an influx in enrollment. There was simply not enough room to meet the demand for a Catholic education. Parking downtown became increasingly difficult for faculty and students.
When the Ursuline Sisters announced they were to close at the end of the 1975-1976 academic year, the Sisters of Divine Providence unselfishly organized supporters to sell their convent and to use those funds to purchase the Ursuline campus for the relocation of St. Augustine School . The downtown school building was closed, its slow decline visible to those who kept offices there and those who took religion classes there.
The existing structure sits at the very center of where Laredo was founded on 15 May 1755. Laredo will be celebrating its 250th anniversary in 2005, and it behooves Laredoans to preserve and renovate the very block where don Tomás Sánchez founded our city. Indeed, excavations indicate that the first temporary church was located at the corner of Zaragoza and San Agustín where students used to play basketball and baseball.
We urge all citizens and especially the alumni to contribute toward the renovation of St. Augustine School . Bishop James A. Tamayo is committed to restoring this structurally sound building to its previous grandeur. The building will have multiple uses. Adult and youth religious education classes will be taught there. The auditorium with its old ornate tin ceiling and its other facilities will be used for conferences, receptions, youth activities, and musical and dance productions. A museum is also being considered. A brief look at the fifty-year history of St. Augustine School while it was downtown will help us understand its importance and the necessity to restore it.
