Galveston: One Year After Ike
The Texas island is still on the road to recovery.
By Krista Walton | Online Only | Sept. 7, 2009
Photos courtesy of the Galveston Historical Foundation
On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike ravaged Galveston, a tiny island off the coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. Up to 13 feet of ocean water and debris submerged its historic downtown area, the Strand, which attracted thousands of tourists a year and was once called the "Wall Street of the Southwest" for its commercial prowess.
"Everything was underwater," Galveston business owner Jack King remembers. "It destroyed everything down here. We had to tear everything out and rebuild." King, whose ice cream and chocolate shop has been a fixture on the Strand for the last 32 years, also had to repair his house, damaged by the storm. After a 10-month construction project, his three-story business, La King's Confectionery, reopened in July, lighting up another building that had been shuttered since Ike.
"It felt good to get back, [but] it's not the way it was a year ago, by any means," King says, noting that fewer people visit the Strand now. "There are a lot of stores that are not open yet, and some are not going to reopen. So it's not what it was a year ago."
Ike flooded dozens of downtown buildings, forcing owners to close their shops, many of them housed in historic structures. Like King, many business owners lacked flood insurance, and remained closed for months, waiting aid from FEMA and other resources. Tourism dried up, leaving shop owners and others who relied on visitors for income in the lurch.
Now, a year later, Galveston is still on the road to recovery. In June, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Galveston's cast-iron architecture, which adorned many of the Greek Revival and Italianate facades of the city's Strand/Mechanic National Historic Landmark, to its list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Because of that listing, local preservationists say, the city council has allotted $775,000 in disaster funding to help restore the city's cast-iron architecture.
"The Strand is coming back," says Peter Brink, the National Trust's senior vice president and the former executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation. "Galveston is a very special historic city in the country, and the good news is that it has strong leadership throughout this recovery," Brink says. "I think the city will recover fully. It's in an excellent position because of its proximity to Houston and its large population base, so it will continue to attract people."
Dwayne Jones, executive director of the Galveston Historical Foundation, confirms that many of the historic buildings have been repaired or are in the process of rehabilitation, thanks to FEMA, Save America's Treasures, and a number of foundations that have allocated funds toward recovery efforts. "The Strand buildings are mostly up and running, and there's been a strong comeback. [It has been a] stronger return than we've expected."
To bolster that comeback, last month the Galveston Historical Foundation opened a 282-square-foot gift shop called GHF on the Strand. "One of the things we wanted to do [after Ike] was open a business on the Strand," Jones says. The store sells tickets to all of the foundation's sites in town.
The city's latest hurdle is its landscape. Thousands of Galveston's centuries-old oak trees were damaged by stagnant salt water, and dead trees are being cut down. The city's last estimate counted almost 10,000 trees slated for removal.
Over the past year the people of Galveston have shown considerable spunk. Last December, it held its annual holiday celebration just three months after Ike. Rather than mourning the hurricane's one-year anniversary, next weekend hundreds of runners will line up for a five-kilometer race through downtown, dubbed the Galveston Rebirth Run.
King admits that the past year was "very difficult," but he was encouraged to rebuild his home and business by family, friends, and even strangers. "We received several hundred telephone calls wondering if we were back open yet. I didn't really realize we had so many people interested in this place, and we're very happy and proud of that. … We always knew we could do it; it was just a long, drawn-out procedure."
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Comments
Submitted by friendly at: October 11, 2009
I agree with the comment about the Galveston Historical Foundation's great work, both after AND before the storm. Our elected city leaders also were overwelmed like so many of our citizens and it was evident by unnecessary bickering by city council. Our mayor and city manager were, in my opinion, hampered by a couple of councilmembers who took advantage of our major disaster. They constantly argue in public meetings (for self aggrondizement) over inconsequential fine points while the city was and is hurting. This is leading to changes in the character of our city. One example...instead of repairing historic structures (with available public federal resources), one by one, the city leadership is planning to spend 25 million dollars to rebuild public housing, These historic houses will be left to decay to ruin instead of being repaired to house the less fortunate of our citizens. We are coming back and will be better, but different, due to the work and spirit of our citizens and much of our city staff personnel.
Submitted by Jul at: September 10, 2009
As a resident of Galveston, I could not be more proud of the leadership the Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) has shown. With all of their historical properties damaged, sources of income gone, and their own homes flooded, GHF set up temporary offices in Austin within days of the storm. As soon as they could return to the island they gave seminars on saving hardwood floors, mold remediation, distributed sheetrock and primer, and more than fulfilled their role as a valuable community resource. They led by example, with speed and thoughtfulness, and provided both comfort and compass to the citizens of this city, far more than our elected city leaders. They are all to be commended for their dedication and professionalism.