It's startling what a little wind and water can do. Here are several shots of Galveston before the storm. Several of the shots are actually from 1894. Galveston was called the Ellis Island of the West. Immigrants arrived there; the city was racially diverse, and it had more millionaires per capita than any city but New York at the time. I wish these shots existed in color. The greenery and the orange blossoms were supposedly a sight to behold. Private residences The newest photo before the storm, dated 1900 private residence, photo dated 1898 private residence, 1894 continued next post
private residence, photo dated 1896 Private residence, photo dated 1894. Check out those power lines. Galveston was a very modern city. A baptist church at (I think) Avenue J? photo from 1894 The medical department building from the University of Texas, 1894 A view of down town, dated 1890s. Powerlines and a trolley car in the distance, no automobiles continued next post
You'd win that bet. A panoramic view with Gulf in the distance. photo dated 1900--see how flat the island was then. It was only 9 feet above sea level at its highest level. They've raised the city since then, literally filled in under the ground. Murdoch's bath house. There were a lot of these. They were all completely destroyed in the storm. Photo dated summer 1900.
The Gulf--no seawall--1894. It's called history, poodle ---------------------------------------- September 9, 1900 The orphanage. Only 3 children survived. Lucas Terrece. Everyone in this building survived. All 27 of them were huddled in the one tiny room left intact. Wild, huh?
They really do, don't they? I can't believe how wealthy and upscale the city looked back then. It definitely wasn't some little frontier town.
That's how it was described in the book, Issac's Storm, about Issac Cline, who lived in Galveston at the time. His pregnant wife drowned during the storm when his house collapsed in on itself. Houston hadn't hit oil big at that time, so it wasn't the town it is now. Galveston was one of the main ports of entry in the area. It was a very wealthy town.
In later years as oil began to move by tanker ships many of the ports were closer to the inlets to Houston. Towns like Port Arthur and Beaumont had ports for oil tankers also.
Yeah, the 20th century, with the oil strikes in Houston in 1901 and oil transport in and out of the Gulf, changed the scene entirely. You're right.
He did OK. But its just another job. Just on a ship. Those guys on the ship don't spend much while out to sea. No transportation expense. They are fed. They can wear any ole work clothes they want. Most time when they went into foreign ports they slept on the ship. No hotel expenses unless you choose to. My Dad sent most of his money home and my Mom manged it well during that time. So you end up keeping way more of your salary.
At least the city didn't get hit as bad this time. "Only" an 11 foot surge since the storm wobbled north. It's a mess, but not as catastrophic as it could have been. What's up with all the fires that were starting in Galveston and Houston? The villages on the west end of Galveston island, unlike the city itself, are under water; the authorities are still having to go in by helicopter to check it out as of this hour. The homes are close to a total loss on the western part of the island from what I'm hearing. Why would anybody build on the west end when there's no seawall to protect them? They raised the city, but the rest of the island itself is still only a few feet above sea level.
That's why everyone on the west end of the island builds on stilts. Storm surge damage is usually easy to repair. It's when you get hit by the wind and tornadoes that your house is fucked. Also, the vast majority of the places on the west end are self insured vacation homes.
Must be nice to have that kind of money. The insurance premiums must be out of this world. Are the villages on the west end of the island incorporated, or are they just vacation communities? I'm glad the storm wobbled north so the bay's waters weren't swept back into the city. That's what happened in 1900. They got hit by the Gulf and Galveston Bay when the winds shifted. What a nightmare that must have been.
Jamaica Beach, where our house is, is incorporated and has a full set of city services. The others, not so much.
Just curious are those photos public domain? Im currently in process of writing a book and would like to see how I can go about incorporating some of those photos. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
If you hit reply on a post with images, you can see the link code for the original image location. They are on somebody's photobucket account, so you'd need to check with that person. Here's a direct link to one of the before pictures: http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/galveston_01/AW-53t.jpg Here's the profile page for that photobucket account: http://s124.photobucket.com/user/galveston_01/profile/
