Old Things Renewed

At Market Square, next to boarded up buildings, dumpsters and a plethora of used clothing stores, Pablo Noriega Urbina and his wife enter their apartment each day and step into the city's storied past.

Last year, Urbina, who descends from a long line of Mexican artists, moved into the La Villa de Llanes Complex, built in 1883.

The apartment was the longtime home of Municipal Judge Kip Van Johnson Hodge, who in 2001 sold the building to Tom Sweeney, a Brownsville native and architectural enthusiast. Sweeney lovingly restored the building and filled it with handpicked antiques.

Urbina and his wife added their own collection of "old things," as Urbina refers to them, to Sweeney's findings.

A painter himself, Urbina has lined the main hallway of the apartment with paintings that re-imagine his wife and relatives as archaic members of nobility.

The portraits depict his loved ones outfitted in ornate period costumes, peering out at visitors from black backgrounds as if welcoming them to centuries past.

"Things used to be made with more love; it used to take a lot longer to produce anything," Urbina said. "So the love for the antiques, if you want to call them that, and my love for painting have always been a nice combination."

Another temporary feature has been added to the apartment: In Urbina's livingroom, which doubles as his art studio, he is restoring three massive murals that once hung in the old Texas Cafe.

"These three pieces were a great opportunity for me. They were really in bad shape," Urbina said. "Because of the location where they were in, the Texas Cafe, they were exposed to tar, nicotine, grease, food, fumes - you name it."

Urbina had to mend holes, clean away years of accumulated dirt and sometimes create detail where none remained. Each mural took about two months to restore.

In one mural, of the original Brownsville public school built in 1890, Urbina discovered children in the foreground who had been masked by grime.

Once restored, the murals will be hung in different municipal buildings.

The apartment lay vacant for years, but has become a kind secret treasure in the city's downtown landscape.

Many of Brownsville's historic buildings are in disrepair. Few families have the resources to restore a building or, if they do, to fill it with such a stunning selection of antiques and artwork.

Urbina credits Peter Goodman, Brownsville's historic downtown director, for linking him with the apartment and the restoration project.

"I think Peter is doing a great job of finding the right match, the right people," Urbina said. "(He) basically found me, someone qualified (to do restoration). I think Peter shares that with me, we have that passion for old things."