GHF Recovery Update

January, 2009: Four Months after Ike

Hurricane Ike left its mark on Galveston Island just four months ago. Our stories from the last few months include personal anguish and loss as we cope with physical destruction to many properties, disruption of our daily lives, and the economic threat to our institutions.

The hurricane was not unprecedented, however. The Great Storm of 1900 left much greater destruction in Galveston. In the midst of our own recovery, many of us have discovered a new awe at the fortitude and strength of those islanders who lived through the Great Storm’s aftermath more than 100 years ago. While we removed precious items from the debris and mud, some of us have thought of our predecessors who walked among debris lines two stories in height, and who had to deal with an overwhelming loss of life.

The 1900 Storm was followed by almost 10 years of recovery that included building the seawall and raising the island. Our tasks are far easier because of what they accomplished.

GHF is recovering from the impact of Ike. Each day we handle a multitude of problems. The properties that we manage and operate are coming back to life. Despite significant progress, however, we have no heat in most of the buildings and few are repaired except for their electrical and water connections. It may seem that we are taking a long time to fully address the damage to our buildings, but the scope of repairs is quite large compared to the income from insurance claims.

One major unknown component of this recovery is the amount we will receive from FEMA, which has not yet committed a specific settlement to GHF. It will be a significant part of our recovery, but large or small, GHF will use it to get on with our work.

GHF’s Historic Properties: A Status Report

The U.S. Custom House (1861) is still holding moisture in its walls to the height of its flood line in some locations. We are expanding the process of removing moisture while we start our rehabilitation of the first floor. The repair of the HVAC system, elevator, and most of the electrical on the first floor are costly and time-consuming projects. The General Services Administration is offering $40,000 toward the elevator repair cost of $68,000 from a special “Good Neighbor” fund. Insurance money and FEMA support may help complete the rehabilitation.

Ashton Villa is closed as a museum as we prepare to begin work on the HVAC and bricks. In 2007, the National Park Service gave us a $150,000 grant for work on the house that is soon to be underway through the Save America’s Treasures program. In the meantime, we have repaired the ballroom and will lease the former ticket and retail area to the Galveston Convention and Visitors Bureau for its island visitor’s center. Rentals of the ballroom continue but are severely constrained by the lack of heat and air conditioning.

Texas Seaport Museum’s (TSM’s) workshop is open while sail training continues on ELISSA. Visitors are able to tour ELISSA daily and to shop in our retail center. Volunteers cleaned debris and replaced sections of the dock. Some of the real heroes and heroines of the storm are the volunteers for ELISSA. The volunteers and staff did massive amounts of work, laboring for hours putting the dock back in order and salvaging lost items from the shop and pier. The workshop at TSM will require major reconstruction and repair as will the pier that extends beyond it. GHF will fund this in part from insurance with the remainder coming from FEMA, which is able to fund reconstruction of museum sites.

SEAGULL II, our educational boat, is being repaired at Pier 77 in Galveston. While damage was not enough to total her, the U.S. Coast Guard required repairs to the vessel. These will be completed by February, 2009, making her available for tours and charters soon afterwards. Our historic shrimper, the SANTA MARIA, is being repaired and will soon be available once more for visitation.

The Jones Building, which houses our seaport theater, museum, and retail areas, is damaged on the first floor and needs extensive repairs including HVAC, restrooms, and public museum spaces. These projects are being scheduled now and will be completed in spring, 2009.

Galveston County Historical Museum is still without electricity and a functioning HVAC system. GHF is discussing with Galveston County officials and the Galveston County Historical Commission opportunities to restructure the museum and its space. We will update everyone as this develops through the spring but for the meantime the museum is closed to visitors.

Bishop’s Palace is stabilized after Hurricane Ike. GHF is now making plans to rehabilitate and restore the first floor visitor’s center where several feet of water entered the house. GHF recently received a grant to support hurricane recovery at the Palace from the Burkitt Foundation of El Paso. Bishop’s Palace is open for tours and a steady increase in visitors is noted.

St. Joseph’s Church, managed by GHF but owned by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, received minimal wind damage, but lost the HVAC system underneath the building to flood water. This site did not have flood insurance and a later effort will be initiated by GHF to raise the funds for restoration of the systems necessary for rental and visitation.

The Samuel May and Sarah Williams House fared well through the storm. New tenants at the house moved into the property in November. This property also received damage to the HVAC system and is now repaired with funding from our insurance company.

The GHF Architectural Salvage Warehouse is open for business on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 908 Tremont. The second floor now houses our Preservation Resource Center and Education departments. The loss of research materials from Hurricane Ike is mitigated by donated materials from supporters. In addition, we are shipping back from Michigan the materials salvaged from the Custom House and will begin this spring to restore the documents that were flooded.

Upcoming Events at GHF

Menard Lectures

GHF hosts two lectures this spring that were postponed from the fall. Two speakers from Dallas address the connection to Galveston through the newspapers of the 19th century. The legacy now carried by the Belo Corporation in Dallas started on the island. Judith Segura and Mike Hazel bring the stories of the families that purchased and published the Galveston Daily News starting in the late 19th century. The dates are February 25 and March 20 (tentative); tickets will be $10. Call GHF at 409-765-7834 to purchase tickets.

ELISSA Daysails

The annual celebration of the iron barque ELISSA kicks off with spring day sails from Pier 21 and the Texas Seaport Museum. This year is a special recognition of ELISSA’s surviving Hurricane Ike, and conclusion of a nine-month-long sail-training class for new volunteers and students at the Texas A&M Maritime Studies program. Another related program will honor ELISSA volunteers and crew from the early days in a reunion. The gathering is planned to capture the experience of preserving a 19th-century sailing vessel and its early days in the port of Galveston. Sailing will take place from March 21 through March 29 and then another week in Bayport (through April 5) with the Port of Houston in support of the ELISSA Regatta of the Houston Yacht Club.

Other News

The National Park Service notified GHF that it is a recipient of a $300,000 matching grant from the Save America’s Treasures program for the roof at Bishop’s Palace. We were the only award recipient in Texas and one of only 24 throughout the United States. Save America’s Treasures is a highly competitive grant for properties of national significance. Bishop’s Palace, also known as the Gresham House, is a recognized National Historic Landmark and considered Nicholas Clayton’s finest residential design. The roof restoration project will occur over the next three years.

Our partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Partners in the Field, is well underway with the assistance of Darryl Daniels from Ann Arbor, Michigan, formerly of New Orleans. Darryl is with us for several months working with homeowners for repair to properties and organizing recovery efforts for neighborhoods. Much of Darryl’s work is with the important neighborhood of Old Central/Carver Park that flanks the north and south sections of Broadway. Some of the city’s oldest houses are there and many long-time African-American homeowners are in need of his guidance. Darryl is a preservation architect with experience in coastal communities and post-Hurricane Katrina programs. GHF will return to its original program of connecting the “green” conservation movement with our long-time historic building program in spring, 2009, with funding for two more years through our Partners in the Field grant.

Immigration through Galveston will be highlighted by the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin starting February 21, 2009, through October 11, 2009 in an exhibition entitled Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America through Galveston Island. The guest curator of the exhibition and the staff are working with GHF to bring this to Moody Gardens in late 2009 and eventually to Galveston permanently. This project, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, is a first step to recognizing the important role Galveston played in immigration to Texas and the United States. As part of this, GHF recently hosted internationally known artist of public space, Mary Miss, to the island to consult with us about presenting Galveston’s immigration story at our Texas Seaport Museum. We look forward to working with her on this important project for Galveston.

Dickens on The Strand brought strong community spirit back the first weekend in December with as many as 20,000 on The Strand for Saturday and Sunday December 6 and 7. A number of the businesses on The Strand opened and the event proved to be more successful than originally thought possible after Hurricane Ike. Thanks to all who attended and supported GHF and Galveston.

Dwayne Jones
Executive Director
Galveston Historical Foundation
January, 2009