Galveston After Hurricane Ike
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Sept. 16, 2008
The 1877 barque ELISSA sustained little damage during Hurricane Ike, but the nearby Texas Seaport Museum, right, lost its wood workshops.
Credit: Galveston Historical Foundation
Although Hurricane Ike wasn't as destructive as the hurricane that wiped out Galveston, Tex., in 1900, the storm took the lives of at least 40 people and pushed 10 feet of water into Galveston's historic downtown. Now that the deluge is over, preservationists are assessing the damage.
Along with about 20,000 residents who did not evacuate, three staff members of the Galveston Historical Foundation rode out the storm last weekend. They have reported their findings to the group's temporary headquarters in Austin.
"They have a list of things to look at. The conditions on [Galveston] Island are very severe—no electricity, no water," says Dwayne Jones, the foundation's executive director. "The water has receded from most of the buildings. We have a lot of water impact, a lot of flooding."
Hurricane Ike seriously damaged only 1,500 of the approximately 7,000 historic properties in Galveston, according to Jones. The city's 10-mile-long, 17-foot-tall seawall, built after the 1900 storm that killed more than 6,000 people, apparently protected much of the city.
Built on a pier in the 1920s, the Balinese Room, a hotspot where Sinatra and the Marx Brothers once performed, was swept away in the storm. The foundation's headquarters, the 1861 U.S. Custom House, and its warehouse were badly flooded, Jones says.
Despite 10 feet of water, many 19th-century structures in The Strand National Historic Landmark District fared well. Nearby, the city's most popular tourist site, the Bishop's Palace, built in 1889, the 1859 St. Joseph's Church, and 1857 mansion known as Ashton Villa, sustained minor flooding and little more than a few broken windows, according to the foundation. (Ashton Villa received a Save America's Treasures matching grant of $150,000 last year as well as $25,000 through the National Trust for Historic Preservation's partnership with HGTV's "Restore America" television series.)
Although the 1877 tall ship Elissa merely lost her sails in the storm, its neighbor, the Texas Seaport Museum, lost its wood workshops.
"I'm not envisioning any demolition, but the cleanup of this water and muck—and saving of the small businesses—will be huge," says Peter Brink, senior vice president for programs of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is calling for structural engineers and architects to volunteer in Galveston.
Across town, the 50-block East End residential area, also a National Historic Landmark district, was flooded with more than five feet of water.
In a statement yesterday, Jones said, "The news is serious, but certainly not as bad as we feared."
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Comments
Submitted by stormy at: October 24, 2008
hurricanne ike was very debasting
Submitted by yo mama at: October 3, 2008
i am sad
Submitted by Bartie at: September 28, 2008
It is amazing the wonderful attitude of Texans. We came home as soon as possible, Monday ater Ike, and got right to work cleaning up our yard. We were lucky, no damage to house, and only two small sections of fence fell. We were so lucky. Texans we talked to couldn't wait to get home and clean up and fix up. Galveston will be better than before, I am certain of it. Can't keep Texans down. REMEMBER THE ALAMO!
Submitted by hi at: September 18, 2008
how sad, poor, poor, peoples
Submitted by Ken at: September 18, 2008
Remember the article on remediation flooded historical structure from March 21, 2008 by Jennifer Farwell: Floods of Historic Proportions What To Do When the Water Recedes By Jennifer Farwell | Online Only | Mar. 21, 2008 http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2008/story-of-the-week/floods-of-historic-proportions.html
Submitted by nelson family at: September 17, 2008
we are most happy and over joyed to hear that the seaport museum and the elissa are ok. i have been worried sick about the ship and all of the thing in the musuem this place is to small to write about our two vists there we will send a letter later and i am almost sure you will remember us take care and God bless the nelsons also i sorry please let the rest of the area know we are glad they fared well we really do love the city
Submitted by Steve the cab driver at: September 16, 2008
That Elissa is quite a ship...Too bad the Falls of Clyde in Hawaii doesn't receive the same appreciation!