The Galveston Seawall is a

seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, that was built after the

Galveston hurricane of 1900 Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

for protection from future

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

s. Construction began in September 1902, and the initial segment was completed on July 29, 1904. From 1904 to 1963, the seawall was extended from to over .

Description

Although the Seawall performed as intended, it created an unintended and insurmountable consequence: passive erosion resulting in the gradual disappearance of the once-wide beach and the resort business with it. "Within twenty years, the city had lost one hundred yards of sand. People who once watched auto racing on a wide beach were left with a narrow strip of sand at low tide and a gloomy vista of waves on rocks when the tide was high." Houston soon overtook Galveston as the major city in the region. Reporting in the aftermath of the 1983

Hurricane Alicia Hurricane Alicia was a small but powerful tropical cyclone that caused significant destruction in the Greater Houston area of Southeast Texas in August 1983. Although Alicia was a relatively small hurricane, its track over the rapidly growi ...

, the Corps of Engineers estimated that $100 million in damage was avoided because of the seawall. On September 13, 2008,

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

's large waves over-topped the seawall. As a result, a commission was established by the

Texas governor The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

to investigate preparing for and mitigating future disasters. A proposal has been put forth to build an " Ike Dike", a massive

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

system that would protect the Galveston Bay and the important industrial facilities that line the coast and the

Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an incr ...

from a future, potentially more destructive storm. The proposal has gained widespread support from a variety of business interests. it is only at the conceptual stage. Further proposals for a layered network of smaller, local levees and natural protections have been put forward by the SSPEED Center at Rice University and the University of Houston. These proposals include a surge gate at the mouth of the Houston Ship Channel connecting adjacent high ground near the Hartman Bridge and hard protections for the west shore of Galveston Bay and around the densely developed east end of Galveston Island. Also included is the proposed lower coastal Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area. Texas F.M. 3005 is known as

Seawall Boulevard Seawall Boulevard is a major road in Galveston, Texas in the United States. The boulevard is conterminous with Farm to Market Road 3005 south of 61st Street. It runs along the Gulf coast waterfront of the island near the main parts of the city. ...

where it runs along the seawall. The sidewalk adjacent to Seawall Boulevard on top of the seawall is claimed to be the longest continuous sidewalk in the world at long. The seawall is long. It is approximately high and thick at its base. The seawall was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977 and designated a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United State ...

by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

in 2001. Many miles of the seawall are painted with

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

. These huge murals are painted by children and depict underwater life.

Gallery

File:Postcard of Galveston, Texas, seawall and 3-mile concrete sections (10001290).jpg, Postcard of the construction of the Galveston Seawall, undated. File:Postcard of Galveston, Texas, seawall (10001291).jpg, Postcard of the Galveston Seawall, undated. File:Building damage on the east end of Seawall Boulevard.jpg, Damage to Seawall after 1915 Hurricane. Image:galvestonseawall.jpg, Galveston Seawall paintings. File:Sea Wall and beach, Galveston, Texas.jpg, Sea Wall and beach, Galveston, Texas (postcard, circa 1907). File:Workers repairing Seawall Boulevard.jpg, Workers repairing Seawall Boulevard after 1915 Galveston hurricane.

References

External links

One-hundred-year-old photos of the Galveston seawall
{{Galveston, Texas Seawalls Tourist attractions in Galveston, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County, Texas Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Dikes in the United States Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks Buildings and structures in Galveston, Texas Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas

Description

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links