Galveston – RDZ Photography

Galveston, Texas – May 2019 – Beach and Bay

Galveston is located on an island, just off the Texas coast. While there is a major freeway crossing the bay onto the island, we chose the more interesting route by taking the ferry from the Bolivar Peninsula.

The Gulf of Mexico was angry this day, with a very rough surf, and red flag warnings for all to stay out of the water.

One the ocean side of Galveston there are the typical beach town activities such as an amusement pier.

One of the fishing piers shows how rough the surf was.

A monument to the victims of the 1900 storm is on the beach.

The bay side of Galveston is all business. An off shore oil rig construction company is located on the mainland side.

The Houston Ship Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country.

The tall ship Elissa is located in Galveston. Built in 1877 it sailed under Norwegian and Swedish flags before being located in Galveston and after extensive restoration, is used for tourist and training of young would be sailors.

Another view of Galveston Harbor.

Like Morgan City, Louisiana, Galveston has a historic offshore oil rig. Unlike Galveston, this one has much corporate sponsorship. We passed since we had seen the ‘real thing’ a couple of days earlier.

One harbor was filled with shrimp boats.

Galveston has always been a point of origination for cruise ships, as was evidenced as one was in port ready for departure.

Galveston, Texas – May 2019 – The Strand Historic District

Architecture, Art, History

Greetings from Galveston, Texas.

Galveston was one of the earliest settlements in what eventually became Texas. The main commercial street in town is known as the Strand.

The first buildings were built out of wood, but it became apparent that with the frequent hurricanes that hit Galveston that more sturdy buildings were called for, hence by the 1870s the entire street was built of iron and brick.

Old Galveston Square dates from 1859, with recent repairs complete due to yet another hurricane that did damage to the building.

While Galveston is a city of 50,000, and part of the massive Houston Metro area, the street feels more like a smaller Midwest town.

The Peanut Butter Warehouse dates from 1912, where it served for nearly 100 years as a grocery warehouse. Today it has been converted into condos.

At one time the street was known as the ‘Wall Street of the South’.

Most of the doors on the buildings are huge – nearly 10′ high.

The Hutchings Building is one of the earliest examples of a steel frame building in Texas.

A few of the classic buildings are in the surrounding blocks.

While not as old, but second to none, the former Santa Fe Railroad Station now serves as a museum on the 1st floor, and offices above.

Built in the art deco style, it has the requisite stylish mailbox.

By the time we reached this building the museum was closed for the day, but could still be viewed through some windows.

Our home for the night was the Tremont Hotel, and classic old building. When I asked if the building was always a hotel the desk clerk said ‘no, it was a store, and a warehouse among other things. In fact during the terrible storm of 1900 (which caused more deaths than any other event in American history – over 8000 people) they used the building to store the bodies.

It turns out this hotel has quite the history for being haunted, but we didn’t have any unexpected visitors during our stay.

The stylish arch over the street was placed there over the street in 1985 for Mardi Gras They liked it so much they left it.