FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2007
CONTACT: Molly Dannenmaier
Director of Marketing and Public Relations,
409-765-7834
molly.dannenmaier@galvestonhistory.org

Galveston Historical Foundation to Manage Bishop’s Palace

Ownership of 1892 Nicholas Clayton Masterpiece to Remain with Galveston-Houston Catholic Archdiocese; Operation, Maintenance and Restoration to be New Responsibility for GHF

Officials of Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) and the Galveston-Houston Catholic Archdiocese announced today the signing of a long-expected agreement giving GHF responsibility for the daily operation and maintenance of the Bishop’s Palace, Galveston’s most visited historic attraction. The Archdiocese will retain ownership of the lavish 1892 mansion at 1402 Broadway, which it has operated as a house museum since 1963.

The change in management was spurred by a growing awareness that the home was in urgent need of restoration. At the instigation of Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and GHF, the National Trust for Historic Preservation funded a study three years ago by Joseph Oppermann, a Galveston native nationally known in the field of preservation architecture. The study identified more than $5 million of preservation and stabilization work required to insure the survival of the house. Most immediately, the elaborate roof, featuring nine different kinds of tile, some made by hand, is in desperate need of replacement.

Galveston City Council passed a resolution in 2006 to work with the Archdiocese and GHF towards an agreement by which the foundation would take over management of the building, for years one of Galveston’s most popular visitor attractions. All parties in the negotiations shared the Archdiocese’s desire that the house remain open to the public rather than pass into private ownership.

“The Bishop’s Palace represents the pageantry, cultural heritage and pride of Galveston,” said Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas. “Its preservation as one of America’s finest public landmarks is assured through a partnership between the Galveston – Houston Archdiocese, Galveston Historical Foundation and the City of Galveston. The Bishop’s Palace is an Island icon, and the City is looking forward to working with GHF as they take responsibility for the management and restoration of the house.”

To begin the restoration, GHF has founded the Bishop’s Palace Trust, incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit entity, which can now accept charitable donations. “The Bishop’s Palace is too dear to Galvestonians to be allowed to fall into disrepair,” said GHF board member Paulie Gaido. “It should continue to be available for Galvestonians and tourists alike to visit and enjoy, as it has been for many years.”

“GHF can bring to a partnership with the Archdiocese its expertise and experience, and a focus that the church cannot afford to devote to an historic house,” said Dwayne Jones, the foundation’s executive director.

GHF has been successful in fundraising and management of historic preservation projects for more than half a century, notably the $8 million restoration of the 1877 sailing ship Elissa (now the Official Tall Ship of Texas) and the restoration and operation of the City of Galveston-owned Ashton Villa. It has also overseen the restoration of and now operates the city-owned Garten Verein pavilion in Kempner Park, as well as other historic properties in town.

“Our goal for the house will be a complete restoration to the splendor of 1892,” said Jones.

The Bishop’s Palace is one of the best known and most widely recognized historic attractions in the country. It is listed by the U. S. Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark, and has been named by the American Institute of Architects as the 14th most important Victorian building in America.

“The Bishop’s Palace has supported itself as a house museum for years, which is more than can be said of most museums in recent times,” said Jones. “But, after 117 years, it is in need of restoration.”

The house was built from 1887 to 1892 for Colonel Walter Gresham and his wife Josephine, with whom he had nine children. An attorney and entrepreneur, Gresham came to Galveston from Virginia following his service in the Civil War. He was a founder of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad, eventually working to bring about the merger of the Santa Fe with the Atchison and Topeka Railroad, and served in the Texas Legislature. In Galveston’s great period of mansion building--the 1870s, 80s and 90s--Gresham’s commission of Nicholas Clayton, Galveston’s premier architect, resulted in Clayton’s most spectacular residential design and arguably the finest of the “Broadway beauties.”

Constructed of steel and stone (it survived the Great Storm of 1900 virtually unscathed), the Bishop's Palace soars three stories over a raised basement level, with steep roofs and long sculptural chimneys. The building is classified as "Chateauesque," a derivative of the French revival style popular in the last quarter of the 19th century. It has many distinctive touches, ranging from varicolored stone to round Romanesque and depressed Tudor arches. Its facade features highly articulated carvings of plants, animals, people and other creatures.

The 7,500 square feet of interiors are as lavish, with rare woods and ornate and idiosyncratic details. The front parlor boasts a large fireplace mantel made of Santo Domingo mahogany that was a first-place winner of the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia. In the adjoining music room is a mantel made of onyx, pewter and silver that won a first prize at the New Orleans Exhibition.

“We are honored to assume stewardship of this magnificent building,” said Jones. “Galveston owes the Archdiocese and the Catholic community a huge debt of gratitude for keeping the building intact and open for the public to enjoy for nearly 45 years. Historic Galveston would not be the same without this crown jewel of late 19th-century architecture.”