Swamplot Archives by Category: Galveston

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Great Galveston Summer Tree Carving Festival

June 10, 2009 – 9:07 am

Salt water from Hurricane Ike damaged 11,000 trees on city property in Galveston — and as many as 31,000 more on private property will need to be cut down. The Chronicle’s Allan Turner reports:

The process will involve a tree-by-tree examination, the Texas Forest Service’s Pete Smith said. Candidates for cutting will include most tree varieties that have lost 50 percent or more of their canopy. Live oaks with at least 30 percent of their leaves may be spared. The live oaks, Smith said, are “either recovering or dying,” and more time is needed to determine which is the case.

Officials hope to remove doomed trees [on city property] by the middle of September, thereby qualifying for federal payments that could cover up to 75 percent of the city’s removal cost.

. . . Removing every dead tree on both public and private land could cost about $5 million, according to city estimates, although the federal government will pay to remove only those in the city right of way.

Photo: Flickr user lutzman–

9:07 am | 7 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Trees
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

High School Documentary: The Hurricane That Totally Blew Galveston Away

May 6, 2009 – 9:56 am

Here’s the latest version of the trailer for Ike: A Documentary: The Story of a Torn City Rebuilt by Everyday Heroes. The movie was created by students in Mr. Weiss’s film class at Galveston’s Ball High School.

It all began on the first day of school after the hurricane as students sat together in the advanced media technology class and talked about their storm experiences.

Some students had lost everything. Austin [Almanza]’s family lost their house. William [Gomez] got separated from his family and spent the storm at the high school, which became an emergency shelter during the storm.

As they discussed the storm, “I posed the question,” Weiss recalled. “Do you think we should do a documentary about this?”

9:56 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston
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Monday, February 9, 2009

Seen on the Street: Vultures, Galveston Vacancy, Rice Trailer

February 9, 2009 – 3:43 pm

A few fun pics from around and about town! First, this crowd of black vultures ponders its next real-estate venture from atop a communications tower parked in a gated community in Cypress. Photographer Karen Morris happened upon the scene on Eldridge near Grant Rd.:

It was an awesome sight. Personally, if they adorned my rooftop every evening, I’d clean the roof, sell the house and move to the other side of town. . . . Black Vultures/Buzzards are a bit smaller and less colorful that the Turkey Vulture. They tend to follow the Turkey Vulture because it has a keener sense of smell and can find it’s meal through use of that sense. They eat dead animals and occasionally capture small live animals (field mice, etc.). Although they do not build a nest, they will take an abandoned nest. Often roost together as seen in this set of photos. If startled while roosting, they will regurgitate with power and accuracy.

More local habitat:

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3:43 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Art, Attractions, Critters, Development Strategies, Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Neighborhoods: Cypress, Neighborhoods: Rice University, Utilities
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The End of Galveston As We Knew It

January 7, 2009 – 3:25 pm
   

John Nova Lomax tours the unsung wreckage from Hurricane Ike: “In Galveston, the progress looks superficially impressive. Scaled-back and/or rescheduled editions of major tourist draws like Dickens on the Strand and the Lone Star Biker Rally went over fairly well. Things seem to be getting back to normal, and here in Houston, the second our power came back on, the lines dwindled at the corner gas station and the streetlights returned to working order, most of us ‘moved on.’ Hasn’t Galveston as well? In a word, no.” [Houston Press]

3:25 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Quicklink
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Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Line in the Vanished Sand

December 18, 2008 – 9:03 am
   

Galveston Planning Commissioner Chula Ross Sanchez, surveying damaged properties on the island 3 months after after Hurricane Ike: “The General Land Office (GLO) has drawn a new line in the sand four-and-half feet above sea level. People can stabilize their properties on the beach but we cannot issue new construction certificates in that zone. The line is normally based on vegetation but the storm wiped that out and the new line is based on mean sea levels. Drawing that line, many houses have ended up on public property.” [OffCite]

9:03 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Development Restrictions, Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Quicklink
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Hurricanes: The Devil Galveston Will Know in Advance

November 5, 2008 – 6:46 pm
   

The brand spanking new Galveston National Laboratory, which will be home to the world’s nastiest bacteria and most infectious viruses, officially opens next week. “Yes, at first blush it seems daft to build a nearly $200 million facility with the world’s deadliest biologicals in hurricane country. But the reality strikes me quite differently. In fact, there’s an advantage that comes from being able to know a couple days in advance of a hurricane’s threat. This offers time to lock down the lab, which simply wouldn’t be possible in an area threatened by tornadoes or earthquakes.” [SciGuy]

6:46 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Critters, Galveston, Hazards, Medical Buildings, Openings and Closings, Quicklink
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Monday, November 3, 2008

Galveston for Tourists: Not Quite Yet

November 3, 2008 – 3:01 pm

Dead Trees in Galveston after Hurricane Ike

Sure, we’ve all heard about the damage to Galveston — from news reports and the sad tales of returning residents. But how’s the place looking to tourists? Lou Minatti took his kids for a visit over the weekend:

The island is in sad shape. But there were some bright spots. The Moody Gardens Aquarium is open, and since there are so few tourists they have greatly reduced the entrance fee. (The Rain Forest Pyramid is closed until further notice.) The kids did get to see a beautiful shrimp trawler up close. They were fascinated.

What struck me most was the fact that all of the trees are dead. All of the beautiful live oaks, planted soon after the 1900 hurricane, are no more. They were killed by the flood of salt water. The only trees to survive are the palms and Norfolk Island pines. My best guess is that every deciduous tree more than 5 blocks from the seawall is dead.

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3:01 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Tourism, Trees
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Friday, October 17, 2008

Galveston Damage Map

October 17, 2008 – 12:31 pm

Hurricane Ike Damage Assessment Map of Galveston East of 61st St.

FEMA-approved colors liven up this property-damage-assessment map for 24,000 structures in Galveston.

The red areas are “unsafe; leaning; structurally unsound; completely destroyed; collapsed or structure missing.”

Yellow means “general interior flooding; wind damage; or significantly damaged, but repairable.”

And green means go! “No damage or only minor damage; or missing siding; shingles; handrails; breakaway walls.”

The gray areas? “Flood zone.”

More colorful maps of other Hurricane-Ike-hit areas of the city are available on the City of Galveston website.

12:31 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Galveston
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Monday, September 29, 2008

Midsummer Books: 8 Feet Is Enough

September 29, 2008 – 11:31 am
   

This fall was the final season for Midsummer Books, near the Strand in Galveston: “‘All those shops and restaurants on Strand, Mechanic and Postoffice were hit bad, and Midsummer Books got 8 ft of muddy water which soaked and ruined everything, books, furniture, computer equipment, etc.,’ owner Tim Thompson says by e-mail. ‘Luckily I have flood insurance so I will most likely get compensated for the loss. However, this is one of those times in life where tough decisions have to be made and for a variety of reasons I have decided not to ressurect Midsummer Books,’ he says.” [Hair Balls]

11:31 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Insurance, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail
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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Should Galveston Be Rebuilt?

September 24, 2008 – 4:41 pm
   

“The city and its environs rest on barrier islands, which are made of sand, low-lying and prone to significant geological shifts. In Galveston’s case, even before Ike’s landfall, the island was both sinking slowly and becoming sharply eroded along its west end. Moreover, a couple of years ago, the city itself commissioned University of Texas geologist Jim Gibeaut to create a geohazards map for the island, that is, where should development not occur? The research study found that nearly all the development along the beach front west of the seawall, which protects the core of the island, is in ‘red’ or ‘yellow’ zones, where Gibeaut says development should not occur.” [SciGuy]

4:41 pm | 6 Comments | Read more about Development Restrictions, Disaster Aftermath, Environmental, Flooding, Galveston, Hazards, Quicklink, Redevelopment
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Thousands Lost Their Homes. How Many Lost Their Land?

September 24, 2008 – 4:22 pm
   

With all the beach erosion, coastal homeowners may find their homes now sit on public property: “Even people whose coastal houses were spared by Hurricane Ike could see them condemned under a little-known Texas law, and hundreds whose beachfront homes were wrecked could be barred from rebuilding there. Now here’s the saltwater in the wound: It could be a year before the state tells these homeowners what they may or may not do. And if these homeowners do lose their beachfront property, they may get no compensation from the state.” [L.A. Times]

4:22 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Development Restrictions, Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Quicklink
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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Galveston After the Second Great Hurricane

September 18, 2008 – 6:52 pm
   

“My sense is that Galveston will come back as a weekender community and a modest tourist vista, but that commerce not related to the tourism industry will continue to decline at an accelerated rate. My sense is that what we might see in 20 years is a community comprised of a few high-rise condos and resorts along the seawall, the ubiquitous weekender homes on the West Beach and not much else. It will certainly be easier to evacuate such a community.” [Houston's Clear Thinkers]

6:52 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Galveston, Houston History, Quicklink, Tourism
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Monday, September 15, 2008

Survivor Galveston: Mayor Votes Everybody Off the Island

September 15, 2008 – 3:12 pm
   

“‘There is nothing to come here for right now,’ [Mayor Lyda Ann] Thomas said. ‘Please leave. I am asking people to leave.’ City officials have yet to decide whether to force people off the island. . . . The bottom line is that Galveston can’t adequately accommodate its population,” [City Manager Steve LeBlanc] said, adding that if people returned, the city ‘would go into a downward spiral.’” [Houston Chronicle]

3:12 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Galveston, Hazards, Quicklink
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Finally, a Gas Station in Downtown Galveston

July 23, 2008 – 1:52 pm
   

“Look for crews next week to bring down the 14,000-square-foot building at 711 25th St. that most recently housed Galveston Medical Supplies. Businessman Mony Shlomo Hamo, known for island souvenir chain Dolphin World, said he plans to build a convenience store and a Phillips 66 gas station at the site.” [Galveston County Daily News]

1:52 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Demolitions, Galveston, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Aqua Beach House That Launched a Thousand Aqua Beach Houses

July 8, 2008 – 10:57 am

Bedroom, 3310 Lanyard Pl., Laffite’s Cove, Galveston

Houston interior designer Babs Watkins’s ur-Aqua Beach House in Galveston, featured in a summer issue of Veranda magazine shortly after the home was completed in 2004, is now on HAR, notes Joni Webb:

The beach house generated quite a stir as it was knock-out gorgeous and was furnished with wonderful, painted antiques instead of typical tacky, beachy, white wicker. The most alluring aspect of the house was the color aqua used throughout. Aqua was everywhere, aqua floors, aqua fabrics, aqua furniture, aqua mirrors. Without a doubt, owing to how memorable this beach house was, it started a trend for Veranda: each summer since this home has graced the cover, Veranda has featured another aqua beach house. Obviously they are trying to top Watkins’ version, but in my opinion, the torch has not been passed. Watkins’ work remains the best of all the Veranda “Aqua Beach Houses.“

Webb finds not much has changed about the house since it was featured, but does note some surprises. The HAR photos show . . . a pool table! And a huge open Kitchen that looks onto to the living space! And a curvy banquette and ottoman covered with a woven palm-tree-print fabric on the opposite side of the Kitchen counter. And . . . lots of floral prints in the Master Bedroom. And many more not-ready-for-Veranda moments hidden from shelter-magazine gawkers. But Webb isn’t so fussy herself:

It certainly is everything one would want in a second home, if, of course, you have a couple of cool millions. . . . In fact, this is the second time it has been listed. It’s held up pretty well, and is remarkably still “photo ready” for a second shoot which is amazing for a beach house considering the wear and tear they take.

The 6-bedroom, 6-and-2-half-bath house is on the canal side of Laffite’s Cove, and sprawls over three lots. The asking price is $2.1 million, but you may be too late to buy it: It’s listed as “Pending Continue to Show.” After the jump: a few pics from HAR, before they’re disappeared!

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10:57 am | Add a Comment | Read more about Galveston, Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhoods: Laffite's Cove
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