Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Centennial mortar work continues

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Sunday, November 5, 2000

Centennial mortar work continues
City heritage society hopes to raise another $500,000
By Venessa Santos
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

James Rife works in a trench along the south wall of the Centennial House. Moisture has caused the first 5 feet of the building’s foundation to crumble.

The Corpus Christi Area Heritage Society continues to chip away at giving the Centennial House a chance at another 100 years.
   Crews are removing old mortar and replacing it in an effort to save the city's oldest building still standing on its original site, 411 N. Upper Broadway St.
   An architectural analysis of the building commissioned by the society more than three years ago revealed that "rising damp" - moisture seeping up from the ground - has destroyed or severely damaged much of the mortar in the bottom 5 feet of the building's masonry.
   "There is a little more than sand holding it together (in the cellar)," said Patrick McGloin, an architect with McGloin and Sween. "What we are doing now is chipping away the old mortar and (replacing) it with new mortar. We are also trying to waterproof the area so it won't happen again."
   The house has been closed to the public for two years, since problems were discovered with its foundation.
   The society began a fund-raising drive in 1998 to save the house and has since collected more than $500,000, said George Placke, society president.
   But the group still has to raise an additional $500,000 to fund restoration work, he said.
   Society officials said they hope to reopen the house to the public but there is still a lot of work to be done. "We still have lots of money to raise," said Teri Ficken, society vice president. "We really want to work to continue to preserve our history."
   The heritage society purchased the building in 1965 to save it from being torn down. They have spent more than 30 years maintaining the home and have used the building as a house museum, with exhibits depicting Corpus Christi history.
   The Centennial House was recorded as a historical landmark in 1966 by the Texas Historical Commission and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It acquired its name in 1949, when it was 100 years old.
   During the Civil War, the house was used as a hospital by Confederate soldiers and then by the Union Army when soldiers occupied Corpus Christi in 1862. The Army acquired the house after the war to serve as headquarters for troops stationed in the area.
   Also, victims of the deadly yellow fever outbreaks of 1854 and 1867 were housed there.



Staff writer Venessa Santos can be reached at 886-3752 or by e-mail at santosv@caller.com

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