Heritage at Risk List

The Galveston Historical Foundation Heritage at Risk List began in 2003. It was modeled on the highly successful National Trust for Historic Preservation’s America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places List. The name Heritage at Risk was chosen by GHF to focus on heritage preservation that would go beyond property preservation. The list is intended to include a broad spectrum of sites, structures, landscapes and objects important to Galveston’s heritage.

A significant difference between GHF’s and the National Trust’s lists is that the National Trust list includes properties for only one year. Sites on the GHF list will remain listed until we feel the threat has subsided, been significantly mitigated, or removed.

May 30, 2007

Galveston Historical Foundation Announces Its Heritage at Risk List for 2007

Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) today announces its Heritage at Risk List for 2007. The list, which alerts Galvestonians to historic buildings and neighborhoods that are threatened with loss, is a call for community action to preserve Galveston’s heritage as well as the quality of life that makes the city an attractive place to live in and visit.

The 1895 Galveston Brewing Company building is one of the last standing factories in the Factory District. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

“Our list is an effort of education and advocacy,” said GHF executive director Dwayne Jones. “By drawing awareness to properties that are in harm’s way, we further our prime mission of preserving Galveston’s heritage for everyone.”

GHF has issued an annual list, modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” since 2003. Unlike the national list, once a Galveston historic place is listed as in immediate need of rehabilitation, or facing the imminent threat of being destroyed, it remains on the GHF Heritage at Risk List until its preservation is in process.

Alleys can range from squalid to charming, but they have always had an important role to play in Galveston life. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

This year there are 11 historic properties and places on the list. Six are new: The Broadmoor Apartments, the massive Galveston Brewing Company complex in the factory district, Fire Station #3, the Robles House in the East End, and Galveston’s alleys and back buildings and corner stores. Five others are carried over from previous years. They are the east half of the Hendley Row on The Strand, the Jean Lafitte Hotel at an important downtown intersection, Stewart Mansion on a West End pond, the officer’s housing at Fort Crockett, and Galveston’s traditional neighborhoods that are unprotected by historic zoning designations.

The Galveston Brewing Company building, last known as the Falstaff Brewery, is new to this year’s list. It was built in 1895 at the intersections of 33rd and Church Streets and was one of Adolphus Busch’s brewery projects. Although it changed hands several times, the brewery operated for over eighty years. “Much of the original brewery is still intact,” Jones said. “It’s a beautiful building, and a good candidate for ‘adaptive use,’ with plenty of space for retail shops and apartment lofts.” Now vacant, it is one of Galveston’s last standing factories in the Factory District.

Fire Station #3, built in 1903, was once the home of a volunteer fire-fighting company formed in the late 1800s. The city of Galveston would like to see the station become a city landmark. Its need for restoration and its location on Market Street in the up-and-coming Warehouse District earned it a place on the Heritage at Risk List.

The Broadmoor Apartments were an attempt to bring big-city style apartment living to Galveston's main thoroughfare. They may find another use. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

The 1920s-era Broadmoor Apartment Building on Broadway is noteworthy for its unusual architectural program and mission-style brick architecture: as an apartment building it seems more suited to the west side of Manhattan than to Galveston, but if saved it could offer re-use as retail or office space. Currently up for sale and facing an unsure future, it has been vacant for more than 30 years and is in desperate need of immediate attention.

The Robles House is located in the East End National Historic Landmark District, which is protected by city ordinance from indiscriminate demolition. The Robles house has been under the threat of demolition by the owner. GHF views the structure as one that contributes to the historic value of the district, and one that could set an important precedent in the city’s power to preserve its heritage.

Also new to this year’s list are the alleys and back buildings so characteristic of Galveston's traditional neighborhoods. During Galveston’s early years, alley houses and back buildings were front-house oriented service buildings such as stables or servant’s quarters, or alley-oriented rental units that provided homes for African-Americans and newly-arrived immigrants from Europe. As Ellen Beasley points out in her book, these alley landscapes are an important and always changing part of the city’s social history, as worthy of preservation as many of the grand structures they back.

The Robles House, in the East End National Historic Landmark District, is threatened with demolition. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

Corner stores are also on the 2007 “at risk” list. Called “bookends of the blocks,” hundreds of corner stores once provided services to people within walking distance of their homes. Many were owned and operated by families who lived in the community, or in second floors above the stores themselves. Although some corner stores continue to operate, most owners have been driven out of business by larger retail centers or auto-oriented convenience stores. Many of Galveston’s corner stores are now vacant and in need of restoration and re-use.

On the list since 2004 is the east half of the three-story Hendley Buildings. Built in 1859 and located on The Strand, this row of four connecting buildings was once one of the largest business houses in Texas. The buildings are noted for their street-level tall double-leaf doors and for their solid granite piers, sills, and lintels. The west half of the Hendley Buildings has been restored and houses a retail shop and loft apartments. The east half, however, is vacant and continues to need attention.

Also on the list since 2004, the 10-story Jean Lafitte Hotel, built in 1927 as an early skyscraper, was once a popular hotel for business travelers. Located on Church Street near several other “modern” commercial buildings, the building was believed to reflect Galveston’s progressiveness by 1920s real estate investors. City permits were issued during the past year for improvements. Although some progress was made, the permits are about to expire and restoration efforts appear to have stopped. The hotel has long been vacant and in need of repair.

Fire Station #3 was built in 1903 but has long been unused. It could become a city landmark. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

Stewart Mansion, on the list since 2004, was built in 1926 as a West End retreat for George Sealy, Jr. and his family. Eventually owned by the Stewart family, this Spanish Colonial Revival style house overlooks Lake Como. The mansion has been enlarged and suffers from deterioration, but many original features such as the tiled courtyard are still intact. The current owners have plans for restoration but at this time it remains vacant.

Fort Crockett Military Hospital and Housing, 4100-4500 Seawall Boulevard was originally put on the list in 2003. These former Fort Crockett buildings range from a pre-World War I hospital to non-commissioned officer housing built in 1939. When the government sold the property it placed historical covenants on the buildings but the current owner has allowed them to deteriorate and they face demolition by neglect.

First listed in 2005, Galveston’s unprotected traditional neighborhoods continue to concern preservationists and urban planners. Without historic zoning restrictions, owners in neighborhoods such as San Jacinto and Old Central are legally free to tear down or greatly modify historic homes, alley buildings, and corner stores. Neglected vacant lots and dilapidated structures threaten even those communities that value their historic structures. During the past few years, entire residential city blocks have been leveled to make way for new development.

The corner store, with its "shed" protecting the entrance and living quarters above, is a distinctive Galveston tradition. Many still serve as neighborhood grocery stores, many as above have found adaptive uses, and many are badly in need of preservation. (click on the picture to download it in a press ready format)

To slow a possible tear-down trend in neighborhoods in the future, GHF continues to encourage residents to organize their neighborhoods into Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD)s. “Formation of an NCD gives a measure of self-determination to neighborhood residents and owners, because the terms and restrictions are established by the neighbors themselves to suit local needs,” said Jones. “This can provide some protection from needless demolition and inappropriate modifications or infill.” The San Jacinto neighborhood, south of Broadway and east of 23rd Street, is currently working to achieve NCD status. It’s a slow process, though, since a majority of property owners have to sign the petition.

Two formerly listed sites may owe their preservation in part to the Heritage at Risk list: The Broadway Esplanade is no longer threatened by street expansion, and Rosewood Cemetery no longer warrants “at risk” status. First listed in 2004, Rosewood Cemetery is surrounded by motels and restaurants, and for years had been in need of attention. Tombstones had crumbled and graves were overrun with weeds. Aware that this African-American cemetery that dated back to 1911 was an important part of Galveston’s heritage, the owners donated it to GHF in 2006. Its future now ensured, plans are underway for its preservation.

“For the past five years,” Jones said, “the Heritage at Risk List has attempted to bring awareness to the public of threats to our heritage. Simply pointing out these threats as they arise is an important first step in preserving Galveston’s unique character.”

For more information about Galveston Historical Foundation and its Heritage at Risk List, call 409-765-7834or visit www.galvestonhistory.org.