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Article Excerpt
Galveston Island has been the starting point for Texans. Today, Galveston Island remains one of the first places you should consider if you and your family are looking for a multifaceted, close-to-home hideaway. No matter your age interests, no matter your budget, there are fun to go and interesting things to do every day of the year on the shores and streets of the upper Texas coast's most popular tropical gateaway.
The island's list of Texas firsts goes on and on: The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, the first medical college in the state. Galveston, the first Texas town to be illuminated by gas and, subsequently, electric lighting. Ursuline Convent, the state's first Roman Catholic convent, and Saint Mary's Cathedral, Texas' first cathedral. The first orphanage, the first black high school, and the first school for nurses. The Galveston Daily News, the first newspaper in Texas. The first major port. The first naval base, opened in 1836, before the Texas Revolution, as the headquarters for the Texas Navy. The first Texas soil trod by tens of thousands of settlers and immigrants. Infamous pirate Jean Laffite's first settlement, in 1817. The first use of the telegraph and, later, telephone. The first post office, private bank, bakery, jewelry store, drug store, law firm, grocery store, insurance company, railroad locomotive, and even electric trolleys.
Planning a first trip or just another of many?
Still can't decide where to start?
Consider then, if you will, the following 20 options.
1. Ride the Bolivar Ferry
Every 20 minutes, the powerful grumbling of big diesel engines signals the departure of one of the ferry boats that transport vehicles and passengers from Galveston Island to Port Bolivar at Texas Highway 87 and back. Known as the Bolivar Ferry, the boats are operated by the Texas Department of Transportation. Riding them is an island tradition; many people make the round-trip ferry ride for the sheer pleasure of the experience.
From the rear of the boat (and rear only, for obvious reasons), passengers feed raucous flocks of laughing gulls while watching the sights pass by: the Galveston Coast Guard Station, Seawolf Park, and the awesome spectacle of pilot boats, pleasure boats, tugboats and barges, freighters, shrimp boats, trawlers, and tankers navigating the Galveston Ship Channel between the twin Texas pink granite barriers of the North and South Galveston jetties.
This priceless journey is absolutely free.
2. Check Out the Churches
Churchgoers on Galveston Island don't necessarily attend church services. No locale in the state boasts more churches that by virtue of historical significance alone are worthy of repeat visits.
The Bishop's Palace, though not technically a church, is the island's best-known religious structure. Built from 1886 to 1893, the Bishop's Palace is at 1402 Broadway, across from the site of the original Sacred Heart Church, which was swept away in the Great Storm of 1900.
If the palace seems more like a mansion than a church, it's because it was originally built as a private residence for a well-heeled Galveston politician turned lobbyist named Walter Gresham. The Gresham house (thanks to its granite, limestone, and red sandstone combined with a steel frame) withstood the infamous hurricane and stands today as one of the island's oldest and most appealing structures. It was purchased in 1923 by the Galveston-Houston Diocese. One of the first Galveston mansions to be transformed into a museum, the Bishop's Palace was opened to the public in 1963. It includes a gift shop; tours are conducted daily.
The First Presbyterian Church, however, is actually believed to be the oldest church organization in Galveston. With a congregation dating back to early 1840, the present church building was constructed at Nineteenth and Church Street in 1873.
Also worthy of visits are the Saint Mary Cathedral Basilica, the first cathedral in...
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