Advice For Galveston

[SpringTX]

Forget about competing with the Houston Ship Channel. And don't worry if the Houston Ship Channel even takes away the cruise ship business from Galveston, which I don't think will ever happen. And forget about gambling in Galveston - they had it in the 1930's and 1940's and we don't need it, are better off without it. And Galveston is just geographically too far away from downtown Houston to ever be a major suburb of Houston...that is unless more employment centers locate to the south side of Houston, which of course would only increase congestion and lengthen the commute time from Galveston to those centers.

Galveston has one thing, and has always had one thing: a beach. Austin doesn't have one. Dallas doesn't have one. San Antonio doesn't have one. New Orleans doesn't have one. Yes, it's one of the ugliest, saddest excuses for a beach. It's an environmental travesty. But it's a lot better than the beaches of Louisiana. And unlike the beaches on the east coast and even west coast of the U.S., the water is warm for swimming much of the year. While the surfing is almost not worth mentioning, there is some. Overall, as a beach, it gets a grade of maybe a C+, but it's better than the offerings of all the major metropolitan regions in a radius of many hundred miles.

The beaches are one of bigger tourist draws in the State. People from Dallas don't want to drive to 10 hours to South Padre when they can drive 5 hours to Galveston. And that's why renting a beach house in Galveston for a week in the summer is $2,000: the same price as a beach house rental for a week on most other parts of the Gulf Coast. Houston has a precious commodity. It's the same reason why, during many months of the year, every single hotel room on the island is booked. And have you noticed the prices of the better resorts? The San Luis Resort (which is the top resort on the Texas coast, by the way) goes for over $200/night much of the year.

The historic architecture of Galveston is a nice bonus - that's also hard to find in the region (although New Orleans isn't far away and they win this category easily). And the cruise ship industry in Galveston has certainly been a huge boost to the tourism industry. But Galveston should never lose focus that it's one and only reason for existence: the beach.

Galveston needs to put its resources into taking care of the beach, and into promoting tourism that pertains to the beach and complements the beach. I think Schlitterbahn is a huge, huge gain for Galveston, because the beach is foremost a family activity, and a major amusement park is a huge family draw. This was something that South Padre had over Galveston (a major amusement park), and now Galveston has evened the score.

I've checked out the beaches in the Freeport area. And these aren't any sort of rival to Galveston.

The beaches on Mustang Island/North Padre are nicer than Galveston, but not that much nicer. I'd give their beaches a B- or a B (compared to Galveston's C+). And their drive from Houston is 5 hours. Compared to 1-hour drive from Houston to Galveston. And that's not to mention that most of the best beach area in the Corpus Christi area is on government land, so there are no beach houses on it.

Now, Galveston has some serious problems. A lot of Galveston bears a resemblance to Kingston, Jamaica in terms of run-down housing and crime-ridden streets. The Galveston coastline is somewhat detracted by industrial activity from the oil and shipping industries. The beaches are terribly eroded. The island is susceptible to tropical storms and hurricanes. But all of these should be survivable.

Galveston, never forget what you're all about: the beach, the beach, the beach. Treasure and preserve your beaches. Without them, you're nothing.

[J.A.S.O.N.]

You sure have a way with words, that last sentence was.....yeah. I do agree with most, but not all of what you said. Thanks, I enjoyed reading your post.

Here are some of the progress pictures of the Schlitterbahn park, from the Schlitterbahn site...

Schlitterbahn to announce opening date

By Marty Schladen

The Daily News

Published May 11, 2005

GALVESTON

[westguy]

Maybe someday Astroworld will find a bigger location on Galveston Island.

[H-Town Man]

Forget about competing with the Houston Ship Channel.  And don't worry if the Houston Ship Channel even takes away the cruise ship business from Galveston, which I don't think will ever happen.  And forget about gambling in Galveston - they had it in the 1930's and 1940's and we don't need it, are better off without it.  And Galveston is just geographically too far away from downtown Houston to ever be a major suburb of Houston...that is unless more employment centers locate to the south side of Houston, which of course would only increase congestion and lengthen the commute time from Galveston to those centers.

Galveston has one thing, and has always had one thing: a beach.  Austin doesn't have one.  Dallas doesn't have one.  San Antonio doesn't have one.  New Orleans doesn't have one.  Yes, it's one of the ugliest, saddest excuses for a beach.  It's an environmental travesty.  But it's a lot better than the beaches of Louisiana.  And unlike the beaches on the east coast and even west coast of the U.S., the water is warm for swimming much of the year.  While the surfing is almost not worth mentioning, there is some.  Overall, as a beach, it gets a grade of maybe a C+, but it's better than the offerings of all the major metropolitan regions in a radius of many hundred miles.

The beaches are one of bigger tourist draws in the State.  People from Dallas don't want to drive to 10 hours to South Padre when they can drive 5 hours to Galveston.  And that's why renting a beach house in Galveston for a week in the summer is $2,000: the same price as a beach house rental for a week on most other parts of the Gulf Coast.  Houston has a precious commodity.  It's the same reason why, during many months of the year, every single hotel room on the island is booked.  And have you noticed the prices of the better resorts?  The San Luis Resort (which is the top resort on the Texas coast, by the way) goes for over $200/night much of the year.

The historic architecture of Galveston is a nice bonus - that's also hard to find in the region (although New Orleans isn't far away and they win this category easily).  And the cruise ship industry in Galveston has certainly been a huge boost to the tourism industry.  But Galveston should never lose focus that it's one and only reason for existence: the beach.

Galveston needs to put its resources into taking care of the beach, and into promoting tourism that pertains to the beach and complements the beach.  I think Schlitterbahn is a huge, huge gain for Galveston, because the beach is foremost a family activity, and a major amusement park is a huge family draw.  This was something that South Padre had over Galveston (a major amusement park), and now Galveston has evened the score.

I've checked out the beaches in the Freeport area.  And these aren't any sort of rival to Galveston.

The beaches on Mustang Island/North Padre are nicer than Galveston, but not that much nicer.  I'd give their beaches a B- or a B (compared to Galveston's C+).  And their drive from Houston is 5 hours.  Compared to 1-hour drive from Houston to Galveston.  And that's not to mention that most of the best beach area in the Corpus Christi area is on government land, so there are no beach houses on it.

Now, Galveston has some serious problems.  A lot of Galveston bears a resemblance to Kingston, Jamaica in terms of run-down housing and crime-ridden streets.  The Galveston coastline is somewhat detracted by industrial activity from the oil and shipping industries.  The beaches are terribly eroded.  The island is susceptible to tropical storms and hurricanes.  But all of these should be survivable.

Galveston, never forget what you're all about: the beach, the beach, the beach.  Treasure and preserve your beaches.  Without them, you're nothing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Finally somebody who knows how to write. I actually read through that whole thing, which is the first time I've ever done so for a post longer than about two sentences.

[Parrothead]

I wish they'd jazz up the beach a bit more with some sturdy palm trees. There are some varieties that do beautifully in this part of the country. There are a LOT of beaches in South Florida that planted palms in the '40s to give their beaches a more exotic look. Obviously some were already there. In Key West, they planted all of the Malaysian coconut palms and dwarf Malaysians that line Smathers Beach in the '60s. They look so great now! Galveston could do lots of different kinds--Fan palms (aka Washington Palms), Date Palms, Queen Palms, even some strains of Royal Palms can deal with a bit of frost. Most palms love sandy soil. It would be great to see the beaches of Galveston transformed a bit. Even Key West had to import some sand thanks to Hurricane Georges.

[Subdude]

Cool idea.

[WTx]

A lot of Galveston bears a resemblance to Kingston, Jamaica in terms of run-down housing and crime-ridden streets.

I have to agree here. Last time I went to Galveston I tended to like the southern end of the island on the Gulf side. However, I don't think Galveston's bad areas are any worse than any Texas city its size.

Galveston has one thing, and has always had one thing: a beach

Not necessarily IMO. I like the architecture which you also mentioned. Galveston also has a great, although sad, history that should be marketed more effectively. Would marketing the big hurricane in bad taste? Maybe or maybe not. Dallas has the Sixth Floor Museum and that was a pretty bad situation. OKC puts the OKC Bombing Memorial on their tourism commercials and has a museum to boot.

[RedScare]

Even Key West had to import some sand thanks to Hurricane Georges.

Are you kidding me? Every beach in Key West is man made, even before the hurricanes, due to the fact that the Keys are coral reefs.

That being said, every well known beach is a replenished beach. Wave action and storms wash away the sand, which is not a bad thing, except that we have built to the shoreline. The beaches would "disappear" underneath the shoreline construction if it were not replenished, including Galveston.

I disagree that Galveston only has its beach. The turn of the century architecture is spectacular. The history of that tiny spit of land fills several books. Even the housing in the older parts of town is unique. It is similar to Key West, in that it has a great history on LAND, connected to water.

IMHO opinion, Galveston should do several things, many of which are already being done.

1) Continue to rehabilitate the buildings on the Strand. They are priceless, and once lost, are gone forever.

2) Be militant environmentalists. The Bay, Beach and Gulf, like Spring,Tx said, are very important, and must be clean and replenished. Without them, many people will never see the architecture!

3) Bring on the artists! Encouraging artists, musicians and other eclectic types to take up residence in Galveston will give it a feel that the tourists will appreciate. There is a large amount of cheap housing that can be updated by these artists. It should be encouraged.

4) Placate the cruise industry. Thousands of cruisers depart and return to Galveston every week. They are on vacation and spend money. The cruise ships restock while in port. The cruise ships not only help Galveston's tourist industry, they help Galveston's other industries. So, if they need more room, move the heavy industry to Pelican Island. There are currently 6 ships leaving Galveston.

5) Enforce the building codes. Galveston WILL get hit by another storm. The less of it that is blown away, the quicker the recovery. Strong building codes with equally strong enforcement, will aid in this endeavor.

Clearly, with all of the development exploding on Galveston Island, it is not considered the dump that many of us locals sometimes call it. But, with continued investment in its infrastructure, Galveston will do quite well. If commuter rail ever returns to the island, it will become one of the jewels of the coast.

I wish it well.

[J.A.S.O.N.]

3) Bring on the artists! Encouraging artists, musicians and other eclectic types to take up residence in Galveston will give it a feel that the tourists will appreciate. There is a large amount of cheap housing that can be updated by these artists. It should be encouraged.

I couldn't agree more with that statement. That is the missing element, (imo) that would push Galveston over the top.

[YakuzaIce]

Are you kidding me? Every beach in Key West is man made, even before the hurricanes, due to the fact that the Keys are coral reefs.

That being said, every well known beach is a replenished beach. Wave action and storms wash away the sand, which is not a bad thing, except that we have built to the shoreline. The beaches would "disappear" underneath the shoreline construction if it were not replenished, including Galveston.

Well Galveston used to be an oyster reef I believe. And the sea wall is a big reason for the erosion on Galveston.

[MarthaG]

If Fertitta gets his way, Galveston will become the new South Beach Miami. Is this a good thing?

[DJ V Lawrence]

If Fertitta gets his way, Galveston will become the new South Beach Miami. Is this a good thing?

HELL yeah. The beautiful people. The lively vibe. Popular places to go. Absolutely, that would be hot

[RedScare]

Don't see anything wrong with a "South Beach" style strip along the seawall. It would be a great cruising strip. Fancy hotels, nightclubs and restauarants overlooking the Gulf would be great. For those that want something more quaint and historic, you move over to the Strand and Broadway. The trolley links the two. It has great potential to be many things to many people.