GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION — With the assistance of the Kenedy County Commissioners Court, County Judge J.A. Garcia and 105th District Court Judge Manuel Banales did the ribbon cutting honors for the reopening of the restored Kenedy County Courthouse. Pictured, from left, are Commissioner L.E. Turcotte III, Commissioner Cindy Gonzales, Commissioner Sarita Armstrong Hixon, Judge Garcia, Judge Banales and Commissioner Roberto Salazar Jr. (Photo by Rey Sifuentes) Kenedy County finally cut the ribbon and opened the front doors of their newly remodeled courthouse during a ceremony held in Sarita this past Friday. The ceremony punctuated a project which started in July 2008 and cost approximately $3.5 million.

County Judge J.A. Garcia, who was the Master of Ceremonies, greeted a large gathering in front of the refurbished structure. Father Francis (Kelly) Nemeck - Lebh Shomea House of Prayer - gave the opening benediction.

Kenedy County Courthouse before restoration. Students from Sarita Elementary School recited the Pledge of Allegiance and entertained the crowd with a couple of Texas tunes. Danna Rosa sang the Star Spangled Banner.

Homero Vera (Kenedy Memorial Foundation), Kim Williams (TWC Architect) and Mark Wolfe (Executive Director of the Texas Historical Commission) offered praising remarks.

Judge Manuel Banales (105th Judicial District) presented some closing remarks and Father James Foelker (Our Lady of Guadalupe Church) gave the benediction.

Banales, afterwards, marveled at the remodeled edifice where he has held court for the past 24 years.

“This is a beautiful building; these architects have restored it to the way it was originally built and it is going to be great working here,” Banales said.

“Just the façade for one, it was all white stucco and now they have restored the brick to the way it was when it was first built,” he said.

Kenedy County Courthouse after restoration. “Inside you will also see more color, all the walls were totally white and now they have plenty of colors. One of the most important improvements was in fixing the air conditioning, as well as the electrical and computer wiring. They have modernized it and it is now a fantastic courthouse,” the judge said.

Williams said the renovation was no cake walk.

“This project represented one of the most complex restorations we have undertaken even from a technical point of view,” Williams said. “The coastal environment was brutal on this building from the time it was first built in 1917. On the exterior, the entire stone façade was dismantled, all of the steel elements were completely rusted out and we had to have a custom brick fabricated to refill the exterior of the building.”

Sarita students perform at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of the restored Kenedy County Courthouse. The architect went on saying the modernized courthouse is quite a beauty.

“One, in the technical work, we hope that by using stainless steel and other elements that we put back in, the building will survive for another good hundred years,” Williams said. “The county came to me, after seeing many of our other restored courthouses around the state, and wanted these dramatic Victorian colors both inside and outside.”

Williams said the final result surprised even him.

“I didn’t think this building from 1917 which was more of a classical revival type of building would have those elements,” Williams said. “Lo and behold, through our research, we found some of the carpet that was from the original period which was just wild in color. Then we started pursuing more of the paint colors and I think we have cured the county’s woes of plain vanilla.”

Reviving the landscaping was the final touch, Williams added.

“We even included some of the other things from an original 1917 photo like wild flowers which was a very main part of the image,” Williams said.

“This client has been amazing in continuing to add to the restoration as they have become more engaged with the project and wanted it picture perfect. I don’t have many clients today who are willing to pursue something to such a degree, so our hats are off to the leaders of Kenedy County,” he said.