Sunday was a travel day for us, from Abbeville, Louisiana to
Galveston Island State Park, Texas. We were on the road by 9:45. Louisiana
roads are not the best, but we attempted to avoid the rough spots as much as
possible, hitting just a bit of rain along the way. Traffic was relatively
light, except through Lake Charles and Beaumont, Texas areas. Sure feels good to be
back in in Texas! We arrived to our destination at Galveston Island State Park
at 2:30, ready to relax after setting up.
Before we share our week with you, we thought you'd be interested in a few statistics about our travels this past summer, since we left Bay View last May 4. We traveled 4,183 miles with our camper and put 8,299 miles on the truck pulling the trailer and exploring interesting areas in the southeastern USA. We used 685 gallons of diesel fuel and stayed in 25 RV parks (including Kamper's Supply in Carterville, IL--thanks, Marvin and Shirley!). We had 2 trailer tire blow-outs and bought 4 new trailer tires! We usually include so many photos in our blogs because Dick takes so many. On this trip he took 13,400 photos, so you see we have to share some with you!
Before we share our week with you, we thought you'd be interested in a few statistics about our travels this past summer, since we left Bay View last May 4. We traveled 4,183 miles with our camper and put 8,299 miles on the truck pulling the trailer and exploring interesting areas in the southeastern USA. We used 685 gallons of diesel fuel and stayed in 25 RV parks (including Kamper's Supply in Carterville, IL--thanks, Marvin and Shirley!). We had 2 trailer tire blow-outs and bought 4 new trailer tires! We usually include so many photos in our blogs because Dick takes so many. On this trip he took 13,400 photos, so you see we have to share some with you!
After being so busy the previous week Monday was a chill day for us. We did walk the beach,
though, which was beautiful, albeit breezy. Loved seeing the sun glistening off
the water, and hearing the waves against the shore. Ah…
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| Being right on the beach, Galveston Island State Park has no trees. There are dunes between us and the Gulf. Above is our first sunrise in the park, and our first sunset. Beautiful! |
Galveston Island State Park covers about 2,000 acres,
bordered by developed land on the east and west. The park itself is an oasis of
undeveloped barrier island habitats, that are important for conservation and attracts
a wide variety of birds, especially during the spring and fall migrations. It’s
also home to venomous snakes—which we did not encounter.
We drove into Galveston on Tuesday to tour the historical
Bishop’s Palace, perhaps the grandest and most well-known building in all
Galveston. Also known as the Gresham Palace, it’s an example of eclectic late
Victorian architecture.
Built between 1887 and 1893 for Walter and Josephine
Gresham, it was home to them and their 9 children.
Walter Gresham was born in Virginia in, into a family of planters and lawyers. During the Civil War he served as a private in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1863 he studied law and was admitted to the bar. After the war most family fortunes were devastated, so he moved to Galveston in December 1866 and, with just $5 in his pocket, opened his law office. Two years later he married Josephine. Four years later, in 1872 he was elected District Attorney for Galveston and Brazoria county and in 1875 became involved in the railroad business. Walter’s affluence rose as his participation in civic life increased and, in 1887 he was elected to the Texas Legislature, and subsequently became Representative to the 53rd Congress. It was during this time he commissioned the building of his grand mansion. The Gresham’s formally opened their home on January 1, 1893.
The building is an impressive and ornate 19,082 square foot structure of variegated and irregular cut stone, round Romanesque and depressed Tudor arches with heavily articulated carvings of vegetation, animals, people, and imaginary creatures. Constructed of steel and stone, the palace soars 3 stories over a raised basement level, with steep roofs, and long sculptured chimney. The home is estimated to have cost $250,000 when it was built, equivalent to over $5.5 million today.
Walter Gresham was born in Virginia in, into a family of planters and lawyers. During the Civil War he served as a private in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1863 he studied law and was admitted to the bar. After the war most family fortunes were devastated, so he moved to Galveston in December 1866 and, with just $5 in his pocket, opened his law office. Two years later he married Josephine. Four years later, in 1872 he was elected District Attorney for Galveston and Brazoria county and in 1875 became involved in the railroad business. Walter’s affluence rose as his participation in civic life increased and, in 1887 he was elected to the Texas Legislature, and subsequently became Representative to the 53rd Congress. It was during this time he commissioned the building of his grand mansion. The Gresham’s formally opened their home on January 1, 1893.
The home’s construction (steel and stone) was sturdy enough
to withstand the great hurricane of 1900 that killed over 6,000 people in
Galveston, alone. In addition, over 35,000 buildings were destroyed in that
city. The Gresham’s graciously opened their home to the hundreds of survivors
of that hurricane, as did others in mansions that had withstood this
destructive force.
The building is an impressive and ornate 19,082 square foot structure of variegated and irregular cut stone, round Romanesque and depressed Tudor arches with heavily articulated carvings of vegetation, animals, people, and imaginary creatures. Constructed of steel and stone, the palace soars 3 stories over a raised basement level, with steep roofs, and long sculptured chimney. The home is estimated to have cost $250,000 when it was built, equivalent to over $5.5 million today.
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| The variety of stone shapes and colors are evident in these photos. The last photo is the entrance to the raised basement, now the gift shop. |
The raised basement, which once housed the kitchen and
servant’s areas, now serves as a gift shop. We were able to tour only the
basement, first and second floors.
The spacious and grand interior spaces feature exotic
materials such as a pair of Sienna marble columns flanking the entrance hall.
The home also boasts intricately carved ornaments, rare woods, stained glass
windows, bronze dragons and other sculptures, luxurious materials and
furnishings throughout.
The 1st floor rooms all have coved and coffered
14’ ceilings. An octagonal skylight lights the 45’ mahogany rotunda staircase,
which is surrounded by beautiful stained glass, all but one is original to the
house. Santo Domingo mahogany is featured in the massive fireplace in the front
parlor. The 1st floor also features the grand entryway with inlaid parquet
flooring, parlor, music room (covered in real
silver-embossed wall covering), library/office, impressive dining room,
conservatory (which at one time contained Mrs. Gresham’s vast display of ferns,
one of the finest in the south), the butler’s pantry, and warming kitchen. The
first floor also has the servant’s “vestibule” which contains the dumbwaiter
and back (or servants’) staircase, and a coat closet which contains a Pullman
sink from the famed Pullman railcars and Gresham’s railroad days.
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| The front entryway features exotic woods, marble columns, intricately patterned parquet floors, and a light fixture that Mrs. Gresham selected for its art deco design. |
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| We were probably most impressed with the intricately carved mahogany staircase that reaches 45' to the 3rd floor. Stained glass surrounds the staircase, and above is the rotunda skylight. Absolutely beautiful! |
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| The library was also used as an office by Mr. Gresham. Here again you can see the parquet flooring. The 400 year old vase stands on the mantle. |
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| The music room was a study of beauty, from the intricate fireplace and coffered ceiling, to the real silver embossed wall covering. This is where much of their entertaining took place. |
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| Then, there's the dining room--most impressive! The sideboard alone is enough to make your eyes pop! |
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| The butler's pantry and warming kitchen are adjacent to the dining room. The faucets to the sink in the butlers pantry are of silver for cold, and gold for hot. The real kitchen was in the raised basement. There are 2 set of china on display: one is original to the Gresham's, as is the china used by Bishop. |
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| The coat room features a Pullman sink from Mr. Gresham's railroad days. Even the back staircase features carved woodwork and stained glass windows. The dumbwaiter is encased in mahogany paneling. |
We should point out that all the murals in the home were painted by Mrs. Gresham. Here's an example, which is on the dining room ceiling.
The 2nd floor holds the living room, Mr. and Mrs. Gresham’s bedrooms, the bedroom of one of the daughters (later chosen by the Bishop for his own), another bedroom which was probably a guest room or bedroom for the governess, the main bath and, what is now a chapel, converted from another daughter’s bedroom. It now has stained glass windows and a fresco painted on the ceiling portraying Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The room is also furnished with an altar and 6 prayer kneelers. The bathtub in the main bath is interesting; it has 3 spigots: one for hot, one cold, and one for rainwater.
The 2nd floor holds the living room, Mr. and Mrs. Gresham’s bedrooms, the bedroom of one of the daughters (later chosen by the Bishop for his own), another bedroom which was probably a guest room or bedroom for the governess, the main bath and, what is now a chapel, converted from another daughter’s bedroom. It now has stained glass windows and a fresco painted on the ceiling portraying Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The room is also furnished with an altar and 6 prayer kneelers. The bathtub in the main bath is interesting; it has 3 spigots: one for hot, one cold, and one for rainwater.
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| Mr. Gresham's bedroom is to the left; Mrs. Gresham's to the right. |
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| The main bath on the 2nd floor features a painted bathtub with 3 spigots, for hot, cold and rainwater. Notice the painted sink basin inset in marble. |
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| The chapel was beautiful, featuring the frescoes on the ceiling of the 4 Saints: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. |
The 3rd floor, which we didn’t have access to,
houses the boys’ rooms, Mrs. Gresham’s art studio, and additional storage. Currently
renovations are underway in the 3rd floor and exterior.
In 1923 the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston purchased
the Gresham home for $40,500, which served as the residence for the Bishop of
the Sacred Heart Church, which was just across the street, until his death.
Today the house is owned by the Galveston Historical Foundation which offers
self-guided audio tours. A percentage of the admission price supports the
preservation and restoration of the property.
After touring the home we strolled down Broadway which at
one time was considered “millionaire’s row.” There are so many beautiful and
stately mansions along this stretch of road and nearby neighborhoods; many are
hidden behind towering rock walls, fences and heavy vegetation so it was
difficult to capture a photo. This was also “Victorian heaven,” as there are
dozens and dozens of beautifully kept Victorian homes here, too. We could’ve
spent all day just walking and photographing them. There are too many to count! And, some have withstood many, many storms and hurricanes.
From there we drove to the marina area to tour Elissa, a 3-masted, iron-hulled sailing
ship built in 1877 in Aberdeen Scotland, at a time when steam ships were
overtaking sailing ships. Her name comes from an epic Roman poem, The Aeneid,
in which a Phoenician princess named Elissa fled from Tyre to Africa and
founded Carthage. She carries 19 sails
covering over ¼ of an acre in surface area! We learned that tall ships are
classified by the configuration of their sailing rigging. In Elissa’s case, she is
a “barque” because she carries square and fore-and-aft sails on her fore and
mainmasts, but only fore-and-aft sails on her mizzenmast (the mast just behind
or aft of the main mast). Elissa
measures 205 feet in length, from her stern to the tip of her jibboom. And, she
is 99’ 9” high at the main mast; she displaces about 620 tons at her current
ballast. Oh, the terminology…
Unlike some tall ships Elissa is a survivor—not a replica.
Built to fill a niche in maritime commerce, she carried a variety of cargoes to
ports around the globe, for a succession of owners, and under a succession of
names. She sailed under Norwegian and Swedish flags, known as Fjeld of Tønsberg in Norway and Gustav of Gothenburg in
Sweden. In 1918 she was converted into a
2-masted brigantine and an engine was installed. Then she was sold to Finland
in 1930 and reconverted to a schooner. In 1959 she was sold to Greece and
sailed under the name Christophoros, in 1967 as Achaeos, and in
1969 as Pioneer. In 1970 she was purchased for the San Francisco
Maritime Museum, however she didn’t make it past a salvage yard in Greece.
Her sailing and working life as a freighter had come to end,
where in 1975 she was rescued from a scrap yard by ship preservationists for
$40,000, just days before her final demise. After a year in Greece having
repairs done to her hull, Elissa was first towed to Gibraltar where she was
prepared for an ocean tow in 1979. Her discovery and restoration is a story of
miracles and beauty, and we found it fascinating as we toured both the Elissa
and the Texas Seaport Museum in Galveston.
Elissa still has an iron hull, but she also has a pin rail
and bright work of teak; her masts are from Douglas fir from Oregon, and her
sails were made in Maine. As I said earlier, she’s really a survivor in spite
of numerous modifications and disrepair. In 2011 the U.S. Coast Guard declared
her to be “not seaworthy” due to a severely corroded hull—the worst since the
tall ship was rebuilt in 1982. Officials at the Texas Seaport Museum
successfully raised the $3 million necessary to pay for hull replacement and
other long-overdue maintenance projects. It all was finished in 2013. In
addition, the moneys raised went to replacing the 22,000 board feet of Douglas
fir decking and new quarter deck furniture was also built out of high quality
teak. She has since returned to sailing.
Today Elissa is a fully-functional 135-year old vessel that
continues to participate in annual sea trials in the Gulf of Mexico. Hundreds
of volunteers keep her seaworthy and train each year to sail her. Elisa is
sailed and maintained by qualified volunteers from around the United States.
We then called it a day.
Wednesday morning after breakfast we headed back into Galveston to find the historical tree sculptures that grace so many of the homes in Galveston. From historical photos we saw, there were once lush canopies of live oak trees shading Galveston’s numerous Victorian homes. However, that all changed when the saltwater storm surge from Hurricane Ike hit in September 2008. Over 35,000 trees were destroyed--many planted after the devastating hurricane of 1900 I mentioned earlier.
Wednesday morning after breakfast we headed back into Galveston to find the historical tree sculptures that grace so many of the homes in Galveston. From historical photos we saw, there were once lush canopies of live oak trees shading Galveston’s numerous Victorian homes. However, that all changed when the saltwater storm surge from Hurricane Ike hit in September 2008. Over 35,000 trees were destroyed--many planted after the devastating hurricane of 1900 I mentioned earlier.
The Galveston folks are a resilient bunch; they led a
grass-roots effort to preserve the memory of those trees by carving more than
35 sculptures from the remaining tree stumps, which stand among of replanted
trees. The tree sculptures, carved from stumps still rooted in the ground by at
least 3 sculptors, have become a whimsical yet reverent way to remember the
past in the face of this loss. Since 2009 they’ve been busy with chainsaws and
chisels to transform the stumps into quite an array of creatures: dolphins,
angels, pelicans, frogs, squirrels, mermaids—you name it. Inspired by the tree
art in Biloxi following Hurricane Katrina, the idea quickly caught the eye of
Galveston’s City Council—especially once they saw how visually appealing it could
be. The first to be carved were a Dalmatian and a fire hydrant which were
completed on the 1st anniversary of Hurricane Ike. Something dead
had been given new life, according to a retired newspaper photographer who had
been documenting the loss of the trees for the Galveston Island Tree
Conservancy. Although some of the sculptures are on city property, most are on
private property, tucked into yards amongst heavy vegetation. The statue of
Toto and the Tin Man made sense once we found out that one of the directors of
The Wizard of Oz was born in the house at which the statue stands. Another, the
angel cradling a bunny, was sculpted at the request of the October 1978 Playboy
Playmate of the Month, who runs a bed-and-breakfast and a rescue-bunny
sanctuary.
Today, with the help of the Galveston Island Tree
Conservancy, more than 8,000 trees have been replaced, using historical photos
as a guide.
Thursday was another chill day for us. We did a few things around the camper to get ready to roll on Friday, when we would drive to Rockport, Texas, our home for the winter.
Friday morning we got away by 10:35, heading west for about
175 miles. We arrived in Rockport at 2:15 that afternoon, to a light breeze,
partly cloudy skies and low humidity. Perfect.
As we arrived at the office to check in, friend Laura
arrived who invited us to happy hour at her site. We figured we could make the
4:00 time after setting up and getting settled. Was good to see old friends
again: Laura and Butch, Mike, Prescott and Pat, Steve and Marty, and Lynda.
More friends will continue to arrive throughout the next month.
Later, for dinner, we headed downtown to appease our
yearning for a burger at Whataburger. We hadn’t had any since we left in May,
since Texas is about the only place Whataburger exists. Yum!
Well, I’m cutting this blog short for this week, but will
pick up next week as we begin our winter stay here at Bay View.
Until then, be safe.
Love ‘n’ hugs,
RJ and Gail
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