Can Galveston Make a Comeback?
Even Houstonians, who live less than an hour away from Galveston, can easily forget about the small island city. Part of this is due to the city’s geographical detachment from the Texas mainland; there’s just a skinny stretch of highway connecting the two. But there’s a psychological detachment as well: Galveston residents are proud of their city’s reputation as a low-key haven from the big, muggy city to the north.
Unfortunately, all of this contributed to Galveston’s being largely forgotten at the worst possible time, just following its near-annihilation by Hurricane Ike in September. In an insightful, sad and important article about the ongoing recovery, Houston Press writer John Nova Lomax says that the hurricane marked “the end of a storied American city as we know it.” You can see the article here. Be sure to check out the photos and video.
As Lomax reports, developments, city offices and schools remain partly closed; police officers are facing layoffs, and debris is still piled all over town. And Galveston doesn’t have much to work with when it comes to funding its renewal, Lomax notes:
The neglect even has a bottom line: Wilma, Rita and Katrina together inspired people to give to all hurricane-related charities to the tune of almost $6.5 billion. The four biggest charities have only been able to come up with $19 million for Ike victims. If you are doing the math at home, that comes up to less than one-third of 1 percent.
Making things worse, Lomax writes, is the University of Texas Medical Branch’s decision to cut 3,000 local jobs, undercutting both the city’s economy and the quality of its healthcare.
NAC took a moment to chat with Lomax, who spent time in Galveston interviewing city residents as they tried to rebuild.
NAC: What is the current mood in Galveston? What was your reaction when you first arrived to report this story?
John Nova Lomax: The mood was pretty glum. People still seemed stunned. More than one person I talked to said they got the shakes when they looked at pictures of the storm’s devastation. It’s not just the storm—people are really down about the economic outlook with the job cuts at the University of Texas Medical Board.
NAC: It’s easy to explain why Galveston can be easily forgotten by the greater American public, but why do you think Houstonians, who live only an hour away, can so easily put the city out of mind?
Lomax: I think a lot of it has to do with it being winter here. Many Houstonians don’t think about Galveston until the weather is warm enough to go to the beach. Awareness might rocket in the spring.
NAC: If you had to make a prediction about where Galveston will be in five years, what would you say?
Lomax: It’ll be much more of a tourist trap. What I loved about Galveston was not so much the Strand (especially after it was done up by [developer Tilman] Fertitta) or West Beach, but the old neighborhoods. I don’t know who will live in those pretty old houses, drink in those corner bars, shop at the mom and pop groceries now.
They might get casino gambling, which I think would be horrible. Galveston is far likelier to become a redneck Atlantic City than something like Vegas.
A brighter future would be in store if there was commuter rail connecting Galveston and Houston. Galveston would instantly become one of the two or three most popular far suburbs of Houston.
————-
Do people out there agree with Lomax? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Galveston’s predicament.
For a look at another city that was ignored following a hurricane, check out Brentin Mock’s 2008 piece about the plight of Mobile, Alabama here.
Julia Serazio is the Executive Editor of Next American City.
Predictions for 2010: Round Two
Steve Bonus on Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:14pm
As a former resident of Houston, there was always lingering talk of Galveston becoming a Casino town. I heard lots of people exclaim that they’d cut the 4 hour haul to New Orleans and instead head an hour (in really really good traffic) south to Galveston if there were casinos. And it certainly would provide some immediate cash-flow alleviation to the area.
But I have to agree - casinos would be bad for Galveston, and only push it further into the tourist trap attitude. It’s a beautiful city, with some amazing architecture, and I worry that all that would be lost in the build-up of Planet Hollywoods, Senor Frog’s, Big Johnson t-shirts and Ron Jon Surf shops that inevitably come with development.
The idea of a commuter rail is intriguing, mostly because I think Houston as a whole (and I’m lumping Galveston into that whole) would massively benefit from commuter rail. But how do you convince a region that is so heavily dictated by oil and gas to break their addiction to it?
RWBoyd on Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 2:15pm
I agree with him, except that I think that Atlantic City might be too grand a comparison. Galveston is more likely to become a new Biloxi—especially if the Legislature remains allergic to taxes (which somehow turns many a bible-believing state rep into gambling supporters) and otherwise completely uncreative when it comes to sponsoring growth. On the other hand, Galvestonians are no fans of government help themselves—they’ve elected Ron Paul to Congress for years. Given this, part of me wants to tell them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Unfortunately, even their bootstraps were blown away by Ike. This funky historical island was in decline before Ike struck, and I imagine it will continue to decline—just a little faster now.
Christine Hopkins on Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 11:29am
Downtown Galveston is slowly being rehabilitated. By the way, Tilman Fertitta owns the San Luis Resort on the beachfront and several restaurants including Willie G’s, Fuddruckers and Fisherman’s Wharf downtown. Galveston philanthropist George Mitchell and Mitchell Historic Properties own and operate about one-fourth of the buildings in The Strand National Historic Landmark District in downtown Galveston. For your information, Mitchell Historic Properties is currently restoring its builidings downtown including The Tremont House. While we may lose some businesses downtown we are also expecting many to return.
We hope that Houstonians will remember to support Galveston as we recover. Many businesses are opening and, believe it or not, tourism has been a huge part of Galveston for more than 100 years and provides many needed jobs.
Heidi Lutz in Galveston, TX on Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 9:57pm
As one of the people who live in those pretty old houses Lomax talks about, I really wonder how much time he really spends in Galveston or how well he knows the Galveston people. Spend even a weekend here and anyone would sense the progress and hope and optimism of people here. Yeah, we might not be in the limelight as much as other hurricane stricken cities, but we’re hanging in there. Every day, another business reopens. Another family moves back home. Another stray cat finds its way back. And every day, a little more hope becomes apparent to those of us actually living through the rebuilding process. I’d venture to guess an unprecedented amount of interest in city committees was demonstrated when the city opened up applications for the long term recovery committee. There is so much optimism and enthusiasm down here, it’s evident that this city is definitely making a comeback.
To better understand my perspective, I own a 102-year-old cottage that sustained some 3 to 4 feet of water and sludge inside and 6 to 7 feet of water in its garage. My house sits naked and ready for new walls and new wiring and the starts of a new life being built after the hurricane. I am among the lucky few who survived the cuts at UTMB and had to watch as most of my friends at the hospital did not. Many of my friends sustained significant damage in their homes. And many of these people are actively working to rebuild their city, the city they love and call home. There is a renewed determination to “buy local” and support our local businesses as they make a comeback.
This past weekend, it was warm and sunny and people were walking through downtown, which was redeveloped three decades ago in large part by George and Cynthia Mitchell, the Galveston Historical Foundation and concerned residents of the island. It was so inspiring to see people shopping in the downtown merchants’ shops. The Grand 1894 Opera House has reopened and renowned entertainers will once again perform on the theater’s stage. Three months ago, my neighborhood on the east end of the island was empty. There were no lights on in houses and no one walking through the neighborhood. But now, there are people living in their houses, construction crews working daily to renovate flood-ravaged houses, families play in the neighborhood park and dogs are walked on their regular routines again. The neighborhood is beginning to look alive again.
Things aren’t perfect, and we have a long road ahead of us, but I can attest to the determination of the people in this town and the tremendous progress we’ve already made. Galveston’s history is a testament to the perseverance of its people. Just look back at the recovery following the 1900 hurricane. It would have been easy to pack up and rebuild elsewhere. But instead, the city pulled together, endured a decade of rebuilding and demonstrated not just survival after the storm, but the vision to create a city that could survive storms of the future. That was 108 years before Ike, but the same spirit and determination is alive in this city. We are looking not at just rebuilding what was here, not at returning to the same Galveston we were, but a better, more livable community.
I’ve lived in Galveston for 14 years, but it was when I made the decision to stay and rebuild after Ike that I realized I am a Galvestonian.