photo by gusto

The city of Galveston, which has 65,000 residents, is located on an island 27 miles long and less than 3 miles wide at its broadest point. Named for a Spanish viceroy, Galveston is 51 miles southeast of Houston in the Gulf of Mexico, and is known for its beaches, historic districts, and busy seaport.

Pirate Jean Lafitte established a colony called Campeachy on the island in 1871, and speculation continues about his buried loot. Texas navy ships that were docked at Galveston defeated a Mexican blockade off the coast in 1836, assisting the Republic of Texas’ drive for independence. After the 1846-48 Mexican-American War, Galveston became the biggest and most modern city in Texas, acting as the banking center for the Southwest and operating the nation’s third-largest port.

Galveston turned on the state’s first electric lights and telegraph system, and established the first medical college, now a branch of the University of Texas. It had the state’s first post office, telephone service, public library, and streetcar system. During the Civil War of 1861-65, Union navy forces captured the Port of Galveston, disembarked, and declared an end to slavery on June 19, 1865. Following the war, many Europeans passed through the immigration station at Galveston en route to the Southwest, with many Greek, Italian, and Russian-Jewish descendants remaining in the port city.

The hurricane of 1900, the worst natural disaster in American history, killed 6,000 people, destroyed hundreds of buildings, and changed the destiny of Galveston. A massive 10-mile-long seawall was built 17 feet above low tide, as Galveston became a place to protect rather than a business leader. Much of the fuel used for World War II was shipped out of Galveston, and for many years after the war the beaches were soiled by oil from ships sunk by German U-boats.

Chemicals from nearby refineries and gulf oil-rig spills added to the pollution, all of which has since been cleaned up as an example of a major environmental comeback.

Huge chunks of pink Texas granite, the same rock used in the State Capitol in Austin, serve as a break for hurricane tides. The seawall has become a social and recreational hangout like those found in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Los Angeles.

Galveston’s historic districts preserve more than 1,500 nineteenth-century buildings, 550 of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among the most celebrated structures are the Ashton Villa, an 1859 Italianate house-museum; the Bishop’s Palace, the only Texas building on the American Institute of Architects’ list of the nation’s 100 outstanding buildings; the 1894 Grand Opera House; the 1838 Michel B. Menard Home, Galveston’s oldest house; and the Moody Mansion and Museum, built in 1892, a prime example of traditional Victorian architecture.

The popular 156-acre Moody Gardens feature a subterranean pyramid that allows visitors to experience ocean waters; a rainforest pyramid that represents Asia, South America, and Africa; and a glass discovery pyramid that explores the wonders of space.

At the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum, visitors learn how gas and oil are produced offshore. Replica-1900 trolley cars glide over 4 miles of tracks between the seawall beach and the historic Strand/Bay area. The third-oldest ship afloat, the 150-foot squarerigged iron barque Elissa, is moored at Pier 21 in Galveston.

Galveston can be reached by car by I-45 or by bus. The closest international airport is in Houston.