Pleasure Pier

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The Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, a dining and entertainment complex, is located where 25th Street meets The Seawall and the Gulf of Mexico. It features family-oriented attractions, including rides, midway games, a wide selection of food venues and concessions and retails shops.

Dining options here are always described as “fun food” in the Pier’s promotions. I’d say that’s about right. Currently, restaurant tenants include Big Top Bites, Brew Station, Bubba Gump’s, Carousel Court Sweets, Slices & More, and Scoops.

Stopping in at Bubba Gump’s is always a delicious choice. The shrimp here is always great, and so too is the restaurants’s award-winning, show-cooked ribs. I also love Bubba Gump's spacious dining room and patio; both have splendid views of the Gulf and The Seawall.

Tickets
To gain access to the pier, all visitors older than three years of age must purchase a Pier Pass ($4 each). The passes are sold at the entrance to the Pleasure Pier.

Parking
Parking is very limited in the area, but there are several options to choose from. There is a Premium Paid Parking Lot directly across from the Pier, next to Fish Tales restaurant, and there is parking along the seawall. To the east, just a few blocks away, is a city parking garage.

Carousel at Pleasure Pier in the 1940s

A Bit of History
The new Pleasure Pier opened in 2012, on the site where the original Pleasure Pier stood from 1943 to 1961 - until it was destroyed by Hurricane Carla. The original Pleasure Pier featured rides, an arcade, aquarium, concessions, a large ballroom and opportunities to fish at the end of the pier. (The photo directly above was taken of a popular carousel ride at Pleasure Per in the 1940s.)

The Pleasure Pier site was also home to the USS Flagship, an over-the water hotel that was built in 1965 and, sadly, devastated by Hurricane Ike in 2008.