SURVIVOR GALVESTON: MAYOR VOTES EVERYBODY OFF THE ISLAND “‘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]
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Tag: Galveston
FINALLY, A GAS STATION IN DOWNTOWN GALVESTON “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]
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!
From the Chronicle front page:
Long known for its vibrant bar scene and raucous Splash Day celebrations, Galveston in recent years has become home to a growing gay and lesbian professional class. Now, real estate agents say, the city is poised to become a retirement haven for graying gays who, like their heterosexual counterparts, succumb to the lure of sun and surf . . .
Phil DeMarco, owner of the gay-oriented Lost Bayou Guesthouse, noted that at least four other homes within two blocks of his bed and breakfast are owned by gays. And real estate agent V.J. Tramonte confirmed that sales to gays and lesbians have speeded up in the past two or three years.
We are shocked! What’s going to come out next? That Jean Lafitte was gay?
Oh . . .
The pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte was the hero of the War of 1812, and the country really didn’t care that he plundered the enemy ships after he defeated them. But after the war, piracy was not as politically correct, so he was forced to set up shop outside the U.S. He picked an island in the Gulf under Mexican rule called Campeachy, later to be named Galvez Town after the Viceroy of Mexico, Bernardo de Galvez; in time the name mutated into “Galveston.†Lafitte spent almost 10 years in Galveston, living most of his adult life with a man named Pierre. It was said that Pierre was his half brother, but Jean never confirmed that and there is nothing to suggest they were related. They built a large house, entertained lavishly, and were connoisseurs of fine food and wine, antiques, art, and fashion. They ordered their clothes directly from Paris through New Orleans. There is no evidence that I could find that Lafitte ever had a long-term relationship with a woman.
- More gays pick Galveston as spot to live and relax [Houston Chronicle]
- Galveston’s Song: I Shall Survive [OutSmart]
Photo: Detail of 1923 Galveston Bathing Girl Review panorama by Joseph M. Maurer, Library of Congress
Phew! It’s okay to get back in the water at Galveston beaches. Those high levels of Enterococcus bacteria reported on Wednesday, indicating high levels of fecal matter, are gone. Everything’s back to normal!
Where does all that shit come from, anyway? Sewage treatment plants, septic tanks, boating waste, and storm water runoff, among other sources. Says the Texas General Land Office:
Water contact should be avoided for 48 hours following periods of heavy, prolonged rainfall.
Thanks for the tip, guys! You can track bacteria levels daily with a handy interactive map tool at the Texas General Land Office’s Beach Watch website. (Their happy slogan: “Check the Net Before You Get Wet!”) Other bacteria to watch out for: various species of Vibrio, which cause a few deaths a year. But don’t worry—you won’t need to check the net for Vibrio levels, because they aren’t monitored at all.
- Beachgoers return as bacteria levels recede [Houston Chronicle]
- Eeeewwwww! [Houstonist]
- The Texas Beach Watch Program [General Land Office]
Photo: flickr user rodlkennedy
