Galveston's Historic Red Light District | Island of tolerated sin
Galveston's Historic Red Light District | Island of tolerated sin Galveston isn’t known as the Sin City of the South just for gambling or Galveston’s prohibition of prohibition. Galveston has a long documented history of prostitution in the Red Light District. There’s no doubt that prostitution in Galveston dates back to before the city was founded, but the Red Light District as we know it today began during the Civil War when the union navy occupied the city of Galveston. Although the union ...
23 Apr 20221min
The Green Book in Galveston | Rosenberg Avenue
The Green Book in Galveston | Rosenberg Avenue between Market St. & Post Office St. The Green book was created by a man named Victor Hugo Green, an African-American postal carrier from Harlem. The original Green book was published in 1936. During the era of racial segregation, the green book was a valuable publication offering resources, contacts, and addresses, providing African-American travelers safe passage across the country. The guide contained a list of businesses in US cities cate...
23 Apr 20221min
Wooden Structures in the Downtown Business District | Fire Limits
Wooden Structures in the Downtown Business District | Fire Limits Wooden structures such as this are scarce around the downtown area as most buildings in the downtown business district were required to be fortified against fire throughout the 1800s. While most of Galveston’s downtown district buildings are made of brick and cast iron, very few remain that remind us of an old west town. When Galveston was founded in 1839, many buildings and homes would’ve been crude one or two-room structure...
23 Apr 20221min
Maceo Spice & Import Company | Maceo family legacy
Maceo Spice & Import Company | Maceo family legacy The Maceo family has a well-established name in Galveston history. Sam and Rosario Maceo arrived in Galveston from New Orleans in the early 1900s. Founders of the turf club and the famous Balinese Room, the Maceo family built a business empire in Galveston. One of those enterprises began in 1944, Maceo spice & Import Company. In the early days, Maceo's was strictly a commercial enterprise designed for wholesale to chefs and restaurant...
23 Apr 20221min
St. Vincent's House | A staple in our island community
St. Vincent's House | A staple in our island community At age 25, Fred Walter Sutton of Saint Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church arrived in Galveston. The year was 1953. By 1954, Fred Walter Sutton had been consecrated as a priest. He made it his new mission to begin looking for an area of most need in order to establish his ministry through Saint Augustine. Fred found out quickly if the area north of Broadway and west of Rosenberg Avenue was the area that he was being called to serve. The n...
23 Apr 20221min
The 1937 Galveston Federal Building | Art Deco & Federal power
The 1937 Galveston Federal Building | Art Deco & Federal power This building is one of Galveston‘s courthouses, post office, and customs house. Built in 1937 and designed by architect Alfred C. Fin, this building replaced an earlier Federal building and post office on the same site. It has been home to a number of federal agencies and, at one point, housed the Galveston Bureau of the national weather service. Originally the building housed the post office on the first floor, the postal i...
23 Apr 20221min
Central Fire Station #1 | The Galveston Fire Department
Central Fire Station #1 | The Galveston Fire Department Did you know that the Galveston Fire department was the first paid fire department in the state of Texas? Galveston's first paid fire department began in 1885, but fire prevention on the island goes back to the city's founding in the late 1830s in early 1840s. In the early days, volunteer firefighters were the only thing that stood between a cooking fire gone awry or an out-of-control chimney fire. In some cases, early residents were re...
23 Apr 20221min
The Moody Mansion | Magnificent & Immaculate
The Moody Mansion | Magnificent & Immaculate Commissioned in 1893 by Narcissa Willis, this 31-room Romanesque home was completed in 1895. The moody family purchased this mansion in 1900, shortly after Narcissa's death. In the year 1900, the home was valued at over $100,000. The Moody family was able to purchase this mansion for $20,000. William Moody Jr. and his family moved into this home shortly after the 1900 storm. The mansion was a Moody family residence until 1986, when it was turne...
23 Apr 20221min
