The Strand Historic District, also known as the Strand District, in downtown
Galveston
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 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
(
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
), is a
National Historic Landmark District
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
of mainly
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
buildings that now house restaurants, antique stores, and curio shops. The area is a major
tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of natural b ...
for the island city and also plays host to two very popular seasonal
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s. It is widely considered the island's shopping and entertainment center. The district includes properties along the south side of Harborside Drive (Avenue A) and both sides of The Strand (Avenue B) and Mechanic Street (Avenue C) from 20th Street westward to 26th Street.
The street labeled "The Strand" is actually named Avenue B, which runs parallel to
Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...
.
The district was listed on 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 1970, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its unparalleled collection of commercial Victorian architecture in Texas, and its role as the state's major port in the 19th century.
[ and ]
Today "the Strand" is generally used to refer to the entire five-block business district between 20th and 25th streets in downtown Galveston, very close to the city's
wharf
A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
.
History
The original
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
of Galveston, drawn in the late 1830s, includes Avenue B. The name 'strand' for Ave. B was coined by a German immigrant named Michael William Shaw who opened a jewelry store on the corner of 23rd and Ave. B. Shaw, not liking the name "Ave. B", changed the name of the street on his stationery to "Strand", thinking that the name (named after a street in London) would have higher-class connotations for his jewelry store. He later convinced other owners on the street to change the names they used for the street as well, and the name stuck.
(The word ''strand'' comes from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word for "shore" or "river bank"; in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
and
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
, the word means "beach".)
The Strand's very earliest buildings were typically wooden and vulnerable to fires and storms that hit the island frequently throughout the 19th century. Eventually those structures were replaced with iron-fronted brick buildings. The two oldest buildings still standing on the Strand date to 1855 and 1858; other historic buildings date back typically to the 1870s and 1880s.
Throughout the 19th century, the port city of Galveston boomed; and the Strand, which is very close to the harbor, grew into the region's main business center. For a time, it was known as the "Wall Street of the South."
Because of the
Port of Galveston
The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
's enormous vessel traffic (between 700 and 1,400 vessels annually), the Strand became a popular place for major businesses to locate, including the state's five largest banks at the time, wholesalers, commission merchants, cotton brokers, attorneys and slave auctioneers. In 1881, businesses in the Strand district sold about
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
38 million worth of merchandise and services. Between 1838 and 1842, 18 newspapers were started; The
Galveston News
''The Daily News'', formerly the ''Galveston County Daily News'' and ''Galveston Daily News'', is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state o ...
, founded in 1842, is the lone survivor.
Because of the Strand's close proximity to Galveston's harbor, the area suffered some damage during several battles during the Civil War, particularly when Union forces barricaded the city. During the
Battle of Galveston
The Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle of the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major Gen. John B. Magruder expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas on January 1, 1863.
After the loss of t ...
,
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
forces fought from every corner of the area; several buildings suffered damage from shots and shelling. The battles forced many businesses to close and move to nearby
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
until the war's end. But most moved back into their regular quarters and enjoyed prosperity until the turn of the next century.
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 ...
was devastating to much of the city, and the Strand district was no exception. Many of its buildings suffered catastrophic damage — some buildings lost entire floors, others lost elaborate cornices and flourishes. Many businesses elected to move away from the wharf and, by default, away from the Strand. The area became a
warehouse district
This is a list of notable warehouse districts.
A warehouse district or warehouse row is an area found in many urban setting known for being the current or former location of numerous warehouses. Logistically, warehouses are often located in indust ...
, and was not revived until the 1960s when the
Junior League
The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc. (Junior League or JL) is a private, nonprofit educational women's volunteer organization aimed at improving communities and the social, cultural, and political fabric of civil society. With ...
of
Galveston County
Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...
restored two buildings.
That restoration effort sparked a revitalization project that is still ongoing. In 1973 the Galveston Historical Foundation followed suit, creating a trust fund for dramatic restorations of the Strand district that has sparked significant private investment as well.
Present day
![Lets Play Chess Strand Galveston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Lets_Play_Chess_Strand_Galveston.jpg)
Toda
the Strandfeatures shops, historical exhibits, museums, art galleries and many restaurants and night clubs. It is also the location of a very popular annual
Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
celebration, as well as a
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
festival known as
Dickens on the Strand, which celebrates the city's Victorian heritage with participants roaming the Strand in period dress.
Attractions within the area include The Galveston County Museum, the
Galveston Railroad Museum,
Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
,
horse and carriage
]
A horse and buggy (in American English) or horse and carriage (in British English and American English) refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two ho ...
rides, historical markers, an
Galveston Island Trolley, old fashioned trolley for transportation, and a giant
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
set in
Saengerfest Park. The historic district also contains a variety of retailers, including clothing, factory outlets, souvenir shops, art galleries, antique galleries.
On the outer edges of the Strand is the Post Office district, known for its antique galleries, art galleries, the
Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe
Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe is a music "''Listening Room''" in Galveston, Texas founded by Rex "Wrecks" Bell. Originally a bar ''Old Quarter'', it was opened in Houston, Texas in 1965 by Rex Bell and Cecil Slayton. The ''Old Quarter'' is most well ...
, and the
Grand 1894 Opera House
The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, Texas is currently operated as a not-for-profit performing arts theatre. The Romanesque Revival style Opera House is located at 2020 Post Office Street in Galveston's Historic Downtown Cultural Arts Distric ...
.
Closer to the water is Pier 21, which has daily showings of the movies
''The Great Storm of 1900'' and
''The Pirate Island of Jean Lafitte'', the
Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum, and the Texas Seaport Museum with tall ship
Elissa.
The Strand sustained significant and catastrophic damage from the storm surge of Hurricane Ike on September 13, 2008, prompting the
National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...
to add the district to the 2009 list of
America's Most Endangered Places America's 11 Most Endangered Places or America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places is a list of places in the United States that the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers the most endangered. It aims to inspire Americans to preserve ex ...
.
[Deb Krajnak]
"11 sites make new list of 'endangered historic places'" ''CNN''
Retrieved Apr. 28, 2009.
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas and other landmarks of equivalent landmark status in the state. The United States' National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and re ...
*
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Galveston County
References
Further reading
*Howard Barnstone, ''The Galveston That Was'' (New York: Macmillan, 1966).
*Virginia Eisenhour, ''The Strand of Galveston'' (Galveston, 1974).
*Charles Waldo Hayes, ''Galveston: History of the Island and the City'' (2 vols., Austin: Jenkins Garrett, 1974).
*David G. McComb, Galveston: ''A History'' (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1986).
External links
The Strand's web siteWaybackMachine
Dickens on the StrandTexas Seaport Museum, with information on the tall ship ElissaHandbook of Texas Online entry for the Strand
{{Houston Shopping
Culture of Galveston, Texas
National Historic Landmarks in Texas
National Register of Historic Places in Galveston County, Texas
Tourist attractions in Galveston, Texas
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas