Two Views: From the Gulf to the Bay
There are few things that so aptly describe the architecture and industry of the east end of Galveston Island as the scene from the windows of my office. From the southeast window, one can see the Strand area with its Victorian buildings, the old print shop (now a condominium), the American National Insurance Company building (previously the tallest building on the Island until it was dwarfed by the 32 story condominiums near East Beach), and – in the distance – the Gulf of Mexico. The British flag that flutters over the Strand flies every December as part of the Dickens Festival held the first weekend of the month. On the far left, the buildings on the horizon are part of the University of Texas Medical Branch, more commonly known as UTMB. In the early morning haze, it is difficult to clearly see the narrow strip of the Gulf lying just over the trees that mark a residential area. The four small rectangular images in this strip of water are ships waiting for a pilot to escort them through the Bolivar Pass and into Galveston Bay. From there they turn left into the intercontinental waterway towards Galveston or travel up the Bay into the Houston ship channel.
From the northeast window, I get a clear view of the Port of Galveston and a wide expanse of Galveston Bay. In the foreground, the masts of the 1877 Elissa, a three-masted iron-hulled barque registered as a National Historic Landmark, rise up into the sky. The Texas Seaport Museum is located next to the Elissa, telling the story of a rich legacy of seaborne commerce and immigration and containing a database of the names of more than 133,000 immigrants who entered the United States through Galveston, “The Ellis Island of the West.” Behind the Seaport Museum is another museum, the off-shore oil rig, the Ocean Star. The ominous-looking blue cranes behind the Ocean Star on the right are for hoisting containers from ship to shore and vice versa. The little red boat making its way towards the piers is the Seagull, which offers visitors a water-eye trip around the Gulf. On the far left, just out of view, is the ferry terminal that transports cars, trucks, and people from the Island to the Bolivar Peninsula portion of Galveston County.
And there is it: water-borne commerce, historic architecture, museums, festivals, retail establishments, the two major employers (ANICO and UTMB), the Gulf and the Bay, urban lofts, and residential neighborhoods…and all from my windows. It’s a wonder I get any work done at all.