Field-Pacheco Complex, 1049 East Monroe Street, Brownsville

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TEX,31-BROWN,9-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Field-Pacheco Complex is a commercial and residential complex covering half a block. The two-story, Brick corner Field-Pacheco building was built after as a combination store and residence and is superb as an example of its type. The building still retains its original two-story veranda with jigsaw brackets, spindle cornice, and spindle railings. The veranda creates a covered walkway along the street fac- ades of the building which opens onto the walkway through ten arched doorways. Former servants' quarters, a carriage house, an upholstery shop and a garage adjoin or relate to the site of the Field-Pacheco building. Three small living quarters or residences lie on the property line, which is marked by a brick wall in a ruinous condition. PART I. HISTORICAL INFORMATION A.

Physical History: 1. Date of erection: The Field-Pacheco building in the Field-Pacheco Complex was built between May and June The building does not appear on the May Sanborn Map of Brownsville which features the H. M. Field Company. However the June Aetna Insurance Company Tariff of Rates states that there was a two-story general store located at Monroe Street, at that time the corner of and Monroe streets. 2. Architect: The architect of the building is unknown. The Henry M. Field papers show that Field was acquainted with at least three of the architect/builders working in Brownsville S. W. Brocks, Martin Hanson, and James McCoy, Field was at one time county surveyor so it is also possible that he designed the building himself. 3.

Original and subsequent owners: Legal description of the property refers to it as in lots 11 and 12, Block 143 in the Original Town- site of Brownsville. The following references to the title of these lots are found in the Cameron County Clerk's Office and in Supple- mental Abstracts at the Brownsville Title Company. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 2) Administrator's Deed, May 19, recorded in Supplement E, pages Martin Hinojosa Toro (Administrator of the Estate of Justo Trevino, deceased) sold lots 11 and 12 to Henry M, Field for Mexican. Warranty Deed, November 19, recorded in Volume P, pages H. M. Field conveyed the title to lots 7 through 12 to the H. M. Field Commercial Company. Warranty Conveyance, May 7, recorded May 19, in Volume 74, pages H. M.

Field Commercial Company conveyed the property to Andres Pacheco who was president of the company at the time of its dissolution on May 14, A Deed of Trust from Andres Pacheco to San Antonio Machine & Supply Co. Trust, 29 December Volume 41, page describes the buildings on lots 7 to 12 as follows: "One 2 Story Brick Building 48 x 80 Feet. One 2 Story Brick Building 55 x 82 Feet. One 1-Story Brick Building 30 x 120 Feet. Five Wooden (Lumber) Buildings 25 x 150 Feet." Will, probated April recorded in Vol. X, pages Andres Pacheco, Sr. , died on 25 November in the town of Villaldama, Nuevoleon, Mexico, His will granted his estate to his wife, Rafaela L. de Pacheco. Lots 11 and 12 are currently owned by two of her children, Ninfa and Oliva Pacheco.

Builder, contractor, or supplier: It is probable that all materials for the construction of the building were supplied through Field's business since he had a brick yard and sold lumber, hardware, and other building supplies. Field's mark, which was cut into the wood molds for bricks produced at his yard, can still be seen on some of the paving bricks (where they appear in reverse) in front of the building on Monroe Street. It is not known whether Field himself acted as contractor for the building or whether he worked through someone like Brooks, Hanson, or McCoy. His papers show that he had a number of laborers on his payroll, both for his brick yard and for his ranch and occasionally notations will indicate that these labor- ers were paid for carpentry or masonry work.

(Field Papers, Boxes and The papers also indicate Elecia Laurel worked as a brickmason for Field and that James McCoy did minor carpentry for him. (Field Papers, Box Original plan and construction: No original plans of the Field- Pacheco building have survived but the building does appear on the and Sanborn Maps of Brownsville. Both maps show the plan of the first floor of the building essentially the same as it is today, and indicate the covered walkway and veranda extending on the street facades of the building. In the map, the building t is rectangular, twice as long as it is wide, with the southwest FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 3) dimension at the side rear along the alley being the largest.

On the first floor an interior wall extends from the middle of the northwest side of the building to three quarters of the length where it joins with another interior wall extending down from the northeast side of the building, thus carving an ell in the plan consisting of the southern portion of the building along Monroe and streets. The plan shows two interior openings, one in the middle of each interior wall. The plan also shows a long rectangular hall, the southeast portion of the northeast side of the building. The plan shows two openings from this hall into the main part of the building, one into the short portion of the ell, and one into the northern portion of the building enclosed by the ell. Mr. Benito Longoria, who lived on the second floor of the building -for.

several years around recalled that the building had a basement, reached by a ladder from the interior of the first floor. He stated that a bathtub and commode were located on the second floor of the building in the bedroom along the north- western wall. Water was pumped by hand from cisterns to a holding tank on the roof above the bedroom. In the second-floor hall along the northwestern wall (where the bathroom is presently located) was a stairway and skylight going up to the roof.

The system he described for lighting the house corresponds to a description of acetylene gas lighting in a chapter on "The Lighting of Gountry Houses" in The American Practice of Gas Piping and Gas Lighting published in An "Acetylene gas machine" is noted on the northeast side of the building on the Sanborn Map, but not on that of However in Box of the Field Papers, there is a letter from the Wallace Manufacturing Company, Manufac- turers of gas, gasoline, and acetylene stoves, dated February 13, stating that they understood Field used acetylene for light- ing and wondering if he wouldn't also consider using it for heating and cooking. According to Mr. Longoria, the exterior of the building was quite similar to the way it appears presently.

The building has always been painted a buff color and the first-floor doors had glass panes and iron bars at the time Longoria lived there. He stated that at night these doors were covered with removable wooden panels; some of these panels are still in place. The garden area to the north- east of the house was originally a brick patio which has since deteriorated and is now covered with grass and vegetation. Alterations and additions: Although the exterior of the Field-Pacheco building has not been significantly altered, the interior of the building has been remodeled several times to accommodate commercial and residential needs of owners and tenants. The first floor, cur- rently used for storage, appears to have been least altered.

A water closet with plywood partitions was put in the north corner. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 4) The loft, located in the south-eastern part of the room enclosed by the ell, was constructed in the by 0. M. Coindreau who was the brother-in-law of the present owners. Coindreau had his electrical shop on the first floor and used the loft to store conduits and other materials. The most extensive interior remodeling of the second floor occurred in the late when it was used by the Kewpie Dress Company, a concern which manufactured baby clothes and operated out of New York, Brownsville, and Laredo. The interior wall between the pres- ent kitchen and the northwest room was removed and the present arched opening was constructed..

Sewing machines were bolted to the floor of these two rooms. The wall between the two southeast rooms of the second floor were removed to accommodate cutting tables. Separate bathrooms for men and women were installed in the northern corner at the location of the present bathrooms. When the second floor was again used as a residence in the late the partition between the two southeast rooms was reconstructed and covered with sheetrock. The walnut mantels in the three southern rooms were painted to resemble marble at this time. The fireplace cover in the present dining room was painted by the same craftsman who painted the mantels.

The mantels in the kitchen and the north- western room had been painted brown at the time the building was used for federal offices in the early The pink tile on the wall of the bathroom was installed around The exterior and second floor of the building are currently being refurbished by the owners. As of July the walls had been sheet- rocked and paneling had been put in the kitchen and the northwest room. Closets had been constructed in the northwest room and the eastern bedroom. The mantels in the kitchen and northwest bedroom are being stripped down to the original walnut,and interior doors resembling the original one are being installed. The bathroom and kitchen have been remodeled and there are plans to refinish the floors.

The sheetrock work has been done by Alamo Builders; the paneling, closets, cabinets, and woodwork by Mr. Castillo of Inter- national Builders, and Allen Young assisted with the kitchen design. Alteration on the exterior has been limited to the two-story ver- anda or covered porch running around the street facades of the build- ing; the roof, and an exterior stair on the northeast facade of the building, which was removed. In the Monroe Street, along the southwest facade of the building, was to be widened. Rather than tear down the veranda, the first-floor wooden posts were moved in closer to the building and the present system of bracing at the top of these posts was constructed. This work was done by Adams Brothers.

Adam* Brothers also replaced the roof after Hurricane Beulah in The northwest exterior stair appearing on the Sanborn Map was removed in the early rebuilt in the late and later removed again. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 5) B. Historical Events and Persons Connected with the Structure: The Field-Pacheco building was erected by Henry M. Field, a Brownsville entrepreneur. A biographical sketch of Field on page 22 of Twin Cities of the Border by Chatfield states that Field was born in Massachusetts and came to Brownsville with the Union troops after the Civil War. He was commissioned as a colonel and commanded a regiment of Negro soldiers. Field left the Army in and remained in Brownsville where he served as deputy collector of customs and county surveyor for Cameron County.

He established his business in and continued to operate it until . his death in the latter part of Field's papers reveal that he was an active Republican and that he contributed regularly to the Episcopal Church. According to Benito Longoria and Amelia Longoria Champion, Field never married. However he did adopt two children, Ruperto Martinez Field and Leah Field. Leah married Benito Longoria's brothers Antonio, and Amelia Champion is their child. The Field papers shed little light on Field's background since they con- sist of his business records only. There are letters in the collection which appear to connect him with the distinguished Massachusetts family which produced Stephen Field, the Supreme Court Justice, and Cyrus Field, who laid the transatlantic cable.

Field's correspondence (Box 2D makes reference to a sister, Kate S. Herbert of Rye, New York, a sister Clara, and to Uncle Dudley, Uncle Stephen, and Uncle Cyrus. The Dictionary of American Biography has an entry for Henry Martyn Field, a Presbyterian minister and author who was the brother of David Dudley field, Stephen Johnson Field, and Cyrus West Field. It is tempting to speculate on his relationship to Henry M. Field; however Henry Martyn Field was born in and did not marry until H. M. Field had an extensive business which occupied an entire city block along Monroe street between and street.

A full page advertisement on page 48 of Twin Cities of the Border when it was first published in states that Field was a dealer in Hides, Wool, Cotton, Fur, and Other Skins," and that he would "Pay The Highest Price For Country Produce." Field had business connections in Galveston, Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, Houston, and New York. A list of his business correspondents between January and April will give some idea of the scale of his enterprise, and appears below. Field papers show that he also owned a ranch and operated a ranch store. He printed currency which was redeemable for either cash or merchandise. This scrip was widely circulated on both sides of the border until Field recalled it in (Allhands, p.

In Field owned acres in Cameron County and was counted in the top 10% of Brownsville taxpayers with property assessed at (Chatfield, p. 25 and p. Field was also one of the early supporters of the Rio Grande Railroad, the first railroad into Brownsville, which stopped one block from his store, as advertised in Twin Cities of the Border. (Allhands, p. 39 and p. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HAES No. (Page 6) The H. M. Field Commercial Company was formed in A letterhead dated states that John Vails was president and treasurer and that Conrad Cloetta was vice president and secretary (Box When the company was dissolved in Andres Pacheco was president and the dir- ectors were James A. Graham, C. M. Garza, B. Garcia Vera, and F.

Davila (Cameron County Deed Records, Volume 74, pages 227 The Field-Pacheco building is only a part, although the most important part, of a much larger commercial complex once occupying an entire city block along Monroe Street between and streets* W. H. Chat- field states that Field's business was destroyed by fire in (Chat field, p. Letters from Field to his creditors found in Box of the Field papers state that the fire occurred on November 13, and that Field had begun to rebuild, in brick, as early as November 17, only a few days later, as follows: Brownsville, Texas November Albert Dean Esq.

, Hidalgo, Texas Friend Albert: On the morning of the I was burnt out saving only the lumber yard and losing the Hardware room the Hide Yard and my residence with contents, my books &c were burnt up in the office. Please send me the amount of balance due me per last statement I sent you so as to start our account again, and if you have any money to spare me it could never come at a time when it would be needed more than the present, 1 believe the fire was an incendiarism. Yours truly, H. M. Field per G. D November 17, Messrs Alex. Williams Co-, Boston, Mass. Dear Sirs: On the morning of the inst. my hide yard, hardware store, and residence were completely destroyed by fire, the work of an incendiary. My books and papers were burnt up with the office. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No.

(Page 7) Will you please send me a statement of my account as soon as possible. I had no insurance on place of business but had on residence and furniture. I shall continue the same business as before the fire, and this morning have broke ground to rebuilt my place of business entirely of brick. Yours truly, H. M. Field pr. D. Some idea of the extent of the revival of the Field business can be gained from the following list taken from Correspondence and among which appears the Quartermaster's Office, Brownsville, making it possible that some of the contractors supplies for the Fort Brown Medi- cal Laboratory of (HABS No. and Fort Brown Commissary and Guard House of (HABS No. came from H. M. Field.

Correspondence, Charnock to Field, New Orleans, May 18, Correspondence, January-April, Nat'l Cotton Co., Galveston, Jan, 12, G. W. Geiler, Boston, Jan, 18, W. L. Moody & Co., Galveston, Jan. 18, B. F. Avery, Dallas, Jan. 20, Charles Champion, Port Isabel, Jan. 20, Russell Hardward & Imp/ Kansas City, Jan. 20, Henry Charnock, New Orleans, Jan. 24, Galveston Fruit Co., Galveston, Jan. 26, John Finnegan, Houston, Feb. 1, Henry W. Peabody, New York, Feb. 4, Philibent & Johanning, St. Louis, Feb. 7, Baldwin, New Orleans, Feb. 9, Thomas Publishing, New York, Feb. 17, Texas Moline Plow Co., Dallas, Feb. 19, American White Lead and Color Works, New Orleans, Mar. 7, Baugh and Sons, Philadelphia, March 11, R. McWilliams, New Orleans, March 12, William F. Sprague, Hidalgo, Mar. 14, A.

Dillard, Havana, March 25, Quartermasters Office, Brownsville, March 29, William Parr, Galveston, March 29, Port Arthur Lumber, April 2, R. S. Barrie, April 8, R. B. Hawley, Galveston, April 19, t Cypress Tank, Patterson, La., April 20, N, 0, Quartermaster, N. 0., April 28, FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 8) The H. M. Field Company was featured on the May Sanborn Map of Brownsville which shows that the complex is very similar to the way it appears today, as shown on the HABS site plan.

The map shows the brick warehouse to the northwest of the Field-Pacheco "building, the related service area of the "Lumber, Bone, and Hide Yard" on the north- western 3/5 of the block, eight- and nine-foot brick walls running around this portion of the block, a small one-story square structure in the western corner of the block, and a brick dwelling and stables along the alley in the southeastern 2/5 of the block to the northeast of the present Field-Pacheco Building. Not shown on map is the Field-Pacheco building as well as the small square nearly attached building immediately to its northeast. They do however appear on the map. According to Benito Longoria, this small, square building across the breezeway from the Field-Pacheco building was Henry M. Field's office.

This office has a chimney and Longoria remembers sleeping in the office on cold nights. The kitchen and servants' quarters were located in the dwellings along the alley. A dining room extended southwest from these dwellings in line with the office. The siting of the Field-Pacheco building, the office, and servants' quarters and dining room created a U enclosing a small, rectangular space along Street. Ninfa and Oliva Pacheco recall that a pergola had been erected from the buildings to the street and Longoria stated that this area was planted with roses, Field's favorite flower. This pergola was appar- ently destroyed during a storm. Notations in the Field papers indi- cate that Field was constructing a "piazza" on a dwelling house in March of or p. 43 and p.

49) although this notation could refer to other property which he owned. Benito Longoria has excellent recall of the way rooms in the Field- Pacheco building were used when he lived there. Living quarters were on the second floor; there were four- rooms on southwest side of the building, facing Honroe Street, used as bedrooms. The eastern room was used as a sitting room and library. John Vails, who managed the business, slept in the northwestern room; Benito Longoria, his older brother, and Ruperto Field slept in the center two rooms; and Antonio Longoria and Leah Field Longoria slept in the southern corner room. Amelia Longoria Champion was born in this room. The first floor of the building was used as a general store, as the Sanborn Map indicates.

The Pacheco family lived on the second story for a few years after World War I and again from until the present. Andres Pacheco, father of the present occupants, was born in Hatamoros, Mexico, on November 10, Hiw father was Spanish and operated a hide, cotton, and farm implement business in Matamoros. Andres Pacheco was graduated from high school at the age of 15 or 16, and immediately went into business, in something called "The Vesuvius Market," FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 9) An advertisement on toe back of a piece of stationery for the Hotel Cardenas in Matamoros states: El Vesubio Almacen de ropa y abarrotes, Andres Pacheco, Commer- ciante y Comisionista. Apartado No. 2. H. Matamoros, Tamaulipas( Efectos Nacionales y Extranjeros, Sombreros, Zapatos, Ropa de todas Clases, etc.

Compra de productos del Pais. Gran Fabrica de ladrillo y teja. Translated, this reads: The Vesuvius Market of clothes and goods, Andres Pacheco, Retailer and Commissioner, Arpado No. 2, H. Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Goods Domestic and Imported, Hats, Shoes, Clothing of all types, etc.Buy products of the country. Large Factory of brick and tile. Trans- lated by Heriberto Brito. Andres Pacheco had the first ice house in Matamoros. After he moved across the river to Brownsville because of unsettled conditions in Mexico.- The biographical sketch in the New Encyclopedia of Texas states that Pacheco was a wholesale distributor for tools, farm imple- ments , machinery and a dealer in cotton and hides and that his trade extended to both sides of the border farm lands in Mexico and Texas.

In addition to what was formerly the H. M. Field Commercial Company, Pacheco's interests included investments in the Southern Pacific Rail- road, the Brownsville Ship Channel, the Brownsville Country Club, and the El Jardin Hotel in Brownsville. Pacheco married Rafaela Leal in He died in the and was survived by the following children: Andres, Homero, Ninfa, Esperanza,Alfonso, Elodia, Oliva, Caesar, and Ciro. (Encyclopedia of Texas, pp. Field Papers, Box and interview with Ninfa and Oliva Pacheco.) The Field-Pacheco building has been occupied by a variety of tenants. In the early the building was rented for federal offices while the present post office and federal office building was being built.

The federal marshall, Tom Jeffers, had his office in the room on the second floor now used as a kitchen. Before World War II, the Kewpie Dress Factory was on the second floor and during the early 0. M. Coindreau had his electrical shop on the first floor. The second floor has been a private residence since and the first floor is currently leased by Cameron County and used for voting-machine storage. (Browns- ville City Directories.) C.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS TEX,31-BROWN,9-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

1. Primary and unpublished sources: Henry M. Field Papers, University of Texas Archives, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas, Austin, Texas. The Henry M. Field papers consist of twenty-two feet of printed and written material generated from to These papers are Field's FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. 7 (Page 10) business records and consist of latter presses, ledgers, cash books, journals, invoices, check stubs, etc. The quality of this material varies presumably because of different clerks hired by Field at different times. The records before appear to be better indexed and more detailed than those kept after that date.

Of particular interest are Boxes and which are ledgers, Box containing correspondence, Box con- taining a payroll, and Box which contains Bills of Material for various houses constructed in the area. Interviews were held with four people whose knowledge of the Field- Pacheco Complex was based on personal history: Amelia Longoria of Fort Brown Apartments, Brownsville, was the daughter of Leah Field Longoria, adopted daughter of Henry M. Field. Champion was born in the Field-Pacheco building and spent her early childhood there. She was inter- viewed on June 17, Mr. Benito Longoria, Investment Company, Boca Chica, Brownsville, Texas, was interviewed on June 20, Mr. Long- oria's -brother married Leah Field, adopted daughter of Henry M. Field. Mr.

Longoria worked for Field as a boy and lived in the Field-Pacheco building until shortly before World War I. He has been very active in the Lower Rio Grande Valley area. During World War I he worked for the U. S. State Department in Mexico. He was on the original faculty of the Brownsville Junior College, # now Texas Southmost College, and has operated various businesses. He is now vice president of the Investment Company. The Brownsville Historical association has recognized Mr. Longoria*s work for that organization by naming him honorary director. Mr. Longoria furnished information about the H. M.

Field Company and about the building at the time he lived there, from approximately to Ninfa and Oliva Pacheco, East Monroe Street, Brownsville, were interviewed on June 17, Ninfa and Oliva Pacheco are the daughters of Andres Pacheco. They lived in the building for a few years around and had their residence there since They furnished information about their father and about altera- tions and additions to the structure. 2. Secondary and published sources: Allhands, J. L. Gringo Builders. Privately printed, Brownsville City Directory. Asheville: Ernest H, Miller's Piedmont Directory Company, (Volume I), and (Volume IV). FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 11) Brownsville, Texas, City Directory. Harlingen, Texas: Wilmot Publications, Chatfield, W. H. The Twin Cities of the Border.

Originally published in Reprinted in by the Harbert Daven- port Memorial Fund, the Brownsville Historical Association, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley Historical Society. Page 22, "H. M. Field." Malone, Dumas, ed. Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, The New Encyclopedia of Texas. No publication information, no date. [The first four items can all be found in the Hunter Collection of the City-College Library, Brownsville, Texas. The New Encyclopedia of Texas can be found in the reference section of the same library.] Sanborn Maps of Brownsville, Texas, dated May January and March These maps can be found at the Library of Con- gress and in the Hunter Collection of the City-College Library, Brownsville, Texas. D.

Supplemental material: * Gerhard, William Paul* The American Practice of Gas Piping and Gas Lighting. New York: McGraw Publishing Company, Pages Prepared by: Betty Bird University of Virginia Project Historian PART II. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION A. General Statement: 1. Architectural character: The principal building of the Field- Pacheco Complex is the large brick commercial structure with living quarters on the second floor above a store area, exempli- fying an architectural practice common both to the United States and to Mexico, and representing a building type once prevalent throughout Texas. 2. Condition, of fabric: Good. # FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 12) B. Description of Exterior: 1.

Over-all dimensions: This structure with, two unequally sized but equally important street facades is approximately 42 feet Cfour-bay southeast facade) x 83 feet (seven-bay first-floor southwest facade)(eight bay second floor southwest facade), two stories, L shape. 3. Wall construction, finish and color: Brick, common bond, painted pale ivory on the two street facades, left natural yellowish-tan brick on the northwest and northeast sides or rear elevations, with classic brick frieze and corbeled brick dentils extending from the two principal facades only a few feet around the corner onto the rear elevations. There is a two-course brick band cap- ping the parapet wall. Each center of the two street facades has a curved pediment at the parapet wall.

On the center pediment on the long southwest or East Monroe Street elevation is painted the name ANDRES PACHECO. The parapet wall on the northwest or rear elevation is stepped while there is no parapet on the long side of the L at the northeast elevation* 4. Structural system, framing: Brick load-bearing walls, wooden frame construction, 5. Porches, stoops, bulkheads, etc.: There is a covered walkway extending around the southeast and southwest facades of the build- ing, with an open, covered gallery on the second floor. Each is supported by simple wood columns with jigsaw brackets. At the frieze on the first floor there is a band or screen composed of small spindles. There is a simple wooden handrail on the second floor with turned balusters, forming a balustrade between columns.

The columns on the first floor end on concrete piers, and on the southwest facade have been moved back under the gallery, with knee braces supporting the gallery. This was an accommodation when the street was widened. The floor surface of the walk is brick and concrete. The floor surface of the gallery is wood. There is a short and narrow covered breezeway on the northeast side of the building with a clay tile flooring. An ornamental wrought- iron gate hangs on the southeast end of the breezeway. A small covered porch on the north corner of the L at the second floor opens from the living room. It has a wooden balustrade with simple wood handrail and turned balusters, and a wooden corner post. 6.

Chimneys: There are six brick working chimneys, two on the south- east facade and four on the southwest facade, each an integral part of the parapet. A false corner chimney has been erected on the juncture of the southeast and southwest facades. There is a projecting band of three courses and sloping cap on each chimney. 7. Openings: On the southeast facade there are four openings, the cen- tral two boarded up, the extreme two leading on the southwest to the store, on the southeast to the stairs to the second-floor residence. F1ELD-PACHEC0 COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 13) a.

Doorways and doors: The original main entrance to the first floor, near the south corner on the southeast facade, is a double door that is now closed up* Each wooden door has a horizontal wooden panel at the bottom* The rest of the door is divided equally between a six-light panel below and a wood panel above. The entrance to the stairs and second floor, on the east corner of the southeast facade, has a four-panel wood door, with two square wood panels at the base and two tall and round-headed panels in the upper two-thirds, flanked by a three- light panel at each side above a single wood panel, and a one- light transom panel above the door only. There is a manually operated doorbell on the center muntin.

On the southwest facade there are seven openings with double doors on the first floor, eight openings on the second. These first-floor wooden doors have two raised wood panels in the lower section and a two-light hinged glass panel in the upper. There is a removable wooden panel of four raised sections cov- ering the glass, which was once removed during business hours. The transom panel and some glass panels are protected by iron bars. Each set of paired doors on both the southwest and south-- east facades have wood surrounds, wood sills, wood thresholds, wood trim, and an arched brick hood above. The space between the top of the door and the hood has wood panel infill.

The hood is constructed of two rowlock courses, the top projecting slightly, There is a large pair of vertical wood bi-parting doors with metal track, wood surround, wood sill and a three-rowlock arched lintel on the northwest facade. b. Windows and shutters: On the first floor there are wooden double-hung windows with two-over-two-light sash, wood surround, brick sill, arched lintel, and iron bars over the glass. There is a larger wooden display window with fixed two-over-eight sash wood panel below, wood surround, and boarded up with plywood. On the northwest side one window is boarded up and one has a metal jalousie on the outside.

On the second floor wooden double-hung windows on the northwest and northeast or rear facades have two-over-two-light-sash, wooden surrounds, brick sills, wood framed screens and arched brick lintels with arched wooden infill panels. On the south- east and southwest facades, on the second floor, windows have two-over~four-light~sash and reach to the floor. They have wood surrounds, wood sills, wood thresholds, and arched brick hoods. There is a wood infill panel between window top and hood. Wooden screens are vertically hinged and the windows are used as doors leading to the gallery- The lower sash rises verti- cally into the wall, passing the upper sash to create a door. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No.

(Page 14) When the lower sash is in the closed position, a trim board falls across the opening at the meeting rail to close off the vertical opening. 8. Roof: a. Shape, covering: The roof of the combined residence and store of the Field-Pacheco building is flat, sloping to the rear, and covered with built-up asphalt roofing. The roof of the ell slopes to a built-in gutter at the junction of the two parts of the L. A metal gutter extends across the rear of the building. There is a hipped roof covered with asphalt shingles on the gal- lery, with a built-in gutter. Galvanized corrugated roofing covers the pent roof over the rear porch, b. Cornice, eaves: There is a boxed cornice on the roof of the galleryj and an open cornice on the rear porch. C. Description of Interior: 1. Floor plans: a.

First floor: Although the street address is East Monroe Street, the present entrance door to the first-floor store area opens near the center of the southeast or Street facade. This doorway opens into the large L-shaped room of the store, where the left side of the room with its seven pairs $ of double openings to the street, extends to the rear of the building. On the northwest or rear end wall of the L-shaped room of the store there is a window that is boarded up with wood. Beneath the floor in the end of the store lies an old cistern. Within the L formed by the principal area of the store there is another long room used as a stock room, with four win- dows along its northeast or rear side wall. There is a large bi-parting door at the northwest end wall of the stock room.

In the north corner of the stock room there is a water closet with a plywood partition. At the southeast end of the stock room and within the L of the main room there is an office, and over it a small loft used for storage. Most of the stock room's south- east end wall has been removed, creating an opening into the main room of the store. The entrance to the living quarters on the second floor also opens from Street on the first-floor level at the east corner of the southeast facade. Here a large entrance door opens into the stairhall, which has a window on the northwest wall, a door lead- ing to the breezeway on the northwest wall behind the stairway, and a door on the southwest wall leading into the store area. A closet space is enclosed under the stairway. FIELD-FACHECO COMPLEX HABS no.

(Page 15) b. Second floor: The stairway leads directly up to a door at the head of the stairs opening to a small porch on the northwest angle of the rear of L. At right angles to the head of the stairs there is a door opening into the living room, and two windows on the northeast or rear side , both overlooking the garden, and one overlooking the small porch. The living room has a Baroque marble mantel with no fireplace on its southeast wall, flanked by a door on the left and a corner door on the right, each leading into a bedroom. The two bedrooms lie beyond the end of the L-shaped living room, dining room, and kitchen area, along the southeast facade wall of the building, and have an interconnecting door.

There is a fireplace on the southeast wall of each bedroom, flanked by a floor-length window on either side which act as doors leading out onto the second-floor gallery. The east bedroom has a closet on either side of the door from the living room, and a window on the northeast or rear wall. The south bedroom has two floor- length windows on the southwest wall for the gallery, and a door on the northwest wall to the dining room. A corner of the din- ing room has been given a diagonal wall to allow space for a door between bedroom and living room. The dining room has a fireplace in the center of the southwest wall and is also flanked by a floor-length window on either side acting as doors onto the gallery outside. The northeast corner of the dining room has a diagonal wall, as stated above.

A door in the center of the northeast dining-room wall opens into the kitchen. The kitchen is similar to the dining room, with a fireplace in the center of the southwest wall and flanking windows overlook- ing the gallery. A doorway on the northeast wall opens into the living room from the kitchen. The northwest or rear wall has been mostly removed and a large arched opening joins the kitchen space with the space from a room on the northwest. The area of the large room on the northwest or rear of the build- ing, enlarging the kitchen, has a fireplace in the center of its southwest wall, flanked by a floor-length window on either side acting as doors onto the gallery. There is a single window on the northwest wall and a closet in the north corner.

There are two doorways on its northeast wall, one to the living room and one to the bath. The bath is divided into two rooms the northwest one housing a lavatory and bathtub, the southeast a lavatory and water closet, The last two are separated by a short wall divider from the rest of the room. There is a window on northeast and northwest walls, and a linen closet across the southwest end of the northwest part of the bath. A door on the southeast wall is for the living room, EIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 16) 2. Stairway: The open stair from the street-level stair hall to the second-floor living quarters is a bracketed string in a straight run, with a landing approximately half-way up.

The simple walnut handrail with turned balusters extends with an ease from a large newel at the first floor, ramping to a flat run and easing on up to the second floor, turning and continuing around the open well and ending at the wall. 3. Flooring: The floors are narrow wooden boards. 4. Walls and ceiling finish: The walls on the first floor are painted brick and the ceiling is exposed wood structure, painted over. The walls and ceilings on the second floor and the first-floor stair hall are plaster and gypsum, board, some painted and some papered. There is a vertical beaded wood-panel wainscoting in the stair hall, along the stairway, in the bathroom, and in the living room on the second floor.

The bathroom has a ceramic tile wainscot in the north- west room and horizontal beaded wood paneling above. There is cor- nice molding at the ceilings. The kitchen and adjoining room have modern wood paneling on the walls. 5. Doorways and doors: All doors are four-panel wooden doors, with wood surrounds, wood thresholds, and a single-light glass transom above each. 6. Special decorative features, trim, cabinet work: The mantelpiece in the east bedroom is wood, painted to simulate blue marble. The surround and hearth are of pink marble tile. The firebox opening has a metal cover and a cast-iron frame. The mantelpiece project- ing into the room has a column on each side supporting a top shelf, a mantelshelf supported by three scroll brackets, and a mirror over the shelf.

The mantelpiece in the south bedroom is a duplicate of the one in the east bedroom, except it is painted to simulate ivory marble, and has an acqua mottled marble tile surround and hearth. The fireplace in the dining room has a wooden mantelpiece painted to simulate pink marble, a cast-iron frame around the firebox with a metal cover, and green marble tile surround and hearth. The man- telshelf has a turned spindle support above it on each side support- ing a top shelf. There is a small shelf on each side between the mantelshelf and top shelf supported by the spindle, and a mirror in the center above the mantelshelf.

The fireplaces in the kitchen and adjoining room each have a duplicate mantelpiece of the one in the dining room except that they are painted a dull gray and have mottled red-green marble tile surround and .concrete hearth. FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HABS No. (Page 17) 7. Mechanical equipment: a. Heating: Heating is by natural-gas space heaters. b. Electrical: Modern lighting fixtures are on the second floor and industrial fluorescent fixtures on the store level. c. Plumbing: Modern plumbing fixtures are in the bathroom. There are small enameled-cast-iron corner lavatories in several rooms. D. Site: 1. General setting and orientation: The building faces southwest on the north corner of the intersection of E. Street and East Monroe Street.

The Cameron County Courthouse sits in the middle of a block at the south corner of the intersection. Across the street on the southwest is a commercial building and a residence, and across the street on the southeast is a parking lot. The site now encompasses a half block. The southwest and southeast facades of the building are sited on curb lines of East Monroe and E. streets, and the rear or northeast extension lies near the alley. A small brick openwork fence extends across the front end of the servants quarters situated at the north corner of the southeast or E. Street side of the property. There are numerous large trees on the property. There is an over- grown garden at the northeast or rear of the building, within the first half of the U outlined by the complex.

The northwest or back half of this area, that once held the "Lumber, Bone, and Hide Yard" of H. M. Field (Sanborn Map, is also heavily overgrown* 2. Outbuildings: There is a little brick office building separated by a short narrow breezeway from the Field-Pacheco building. Beyond the office lies the former dining room, and together they form a hyphen with the servants quarters and carriage house along the alley at the northeast edge of the property. The quarters are of brick with wood frame construction and have a gable roof covered with wood shingles and asphalt roofing. There is a plastered brick chimney on the northwest facade of the former servants' quarters, and on the northeast facade of the car- riage house.

The quarters are in good shape, but the condition of the carriage house is only fair. There is a corrugated sheet-metal- covered gable roof on the carriage house. Woaien double-hung, four- over- four-light*-sash windows are in the servants' quarters. The principal outbuilding is a large two-story brick "warehouse" sit- ting behind and at a right angle to the main Field Pacheco building, and extending inward from the southwest boundary wall to connect by a short length of brick wall to the end of the carriage house opposite FIELD-PACHECO COMPLEX HAES No. (Page 18) This arrangement serves to divide the front garden area from the back or service area. The warehouse is in poor condition, but it houses an upholstery shop and a garage for the present owners at the main building.

It has a hipped roof, covered with corrugated sheet metal, wood frame construction, brick lower floor and wood second floor. There is a projecting belt course at the second- floor line. The six-over-six*-light~sash wooden windows have arched lintels over them and iron bars on the exterior. The warehouse is also connected to the rear of the Field-Pachecp building by a brick boundary wall with a large pair of iron gates opening into the service yard. There is a brick wall also along the entire length of the southwest property line, with another wall opening to the northwest of the warehouse. The brick wall along the northeast property line at the alley has crumbled, and there are piles of rubble, covered with brush and undergrowth.

A small living quarters, in poor condition, lies at the end of the brick wall on the northwest edge of the property. There are two other small living quarters, in poor condition in on the northwest side of the property. Both buildings are rectangular with gable roof and wood shingles. One building has a board-and- batten wood siding and the other is plastered brick. Prepared by: John P. White Texas Technological University Project Supervisor PART III. PROJECT INFORMATION At the suggestion of a national preservation consultant, Ellen Beasley, this project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, in cooperation with the Brownsville Historical Association and the Brownsville City Planning Depart- ment.

Under the direction of John Poppeliers, Chief of HABS, the project was completed during the summer of at the Historic American Buildings Survey field office, Brownsville, Texas, by John P. White (Associate Professor, Texas Technological University) Project Supervisor; Betty Bird (University of Vir- ginia) Project Historian; and Student Assistant Architects Scott Deneroff (University of Maryland), Susan Dorobusch (University of Virginia), Matthew Lowry (University of Pennsylvania), Eduardo Luaces (University of Florida) , and Alan Willig (the City College of the City University of New York). Special assistance and support were provided to the HABS team by Mary Simmona, Sally Fleming, Miss Theresa Champion, and Mr. Calvin Walker of the Browns- ville Historical Association; and by Mr.

Mario Moreno, Mr. Richard Waldman, Graciela Salinas, and Mr. Larry Brown of the Brownsville City Planning Department. Archival photographs of the project were made in February by Bill Engdahl, of Hedrich-Blessing, Chicago, Illinois. Editing and final # preparation of the documentation was carried out in the HABS Washington office by Lucy Pope Wheeler of the HABS professional staff.