Hendley Row
Often, when I’m in Galveston with plenty of leisure time, I like to go downtown, into the Historic Strand District, and take a closer look at some of the landmark buildings. Usually, I take a few notes about the facades and interiors of the buildings and, afterwards, return to The Bungalow, go online and seek information about the significance of these treasured old buildings.
Today was one of those days, and Hendley Row was my destination of choice.
Though I have been over to Hendley Row dozens of times over the years to browse and shop at Hendley Market, I have never focused on the building itself. Because of its significance, it is time I did.
Hendley Row is a three-story, Greek Revival-style building, located in the 2000 block of The Strand. It is composed of four adjoining structures, all built in the years 1858-1859. Three of these are the oldest surviving commercial structures in Galveston. The building on the far west side, however, burned in 1866 and was rebuilt in 1867.
The four buildings have common walls and a uniform brick facade, with rusticated granite quoins marking the separations between the four buildings. Granite plaques in the center of the upper story of each section contain the initials of the four original deed holders, Thomas M. League, Francois Gilbeau, Joseph J. Hendley and William Hendley, as well as the date of the building.
During the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces used the building. During the three-month Federal occupation of Galveston in 1862, Union troops used the building’s roof as their lookout spot. When the Confederate forces retook the port, they also used the Hendley roof to observe enemy troops and naval movements.
During reconstruction, the U.S. Commander at Galveston made the row his headquarters. In 1880, the United States Army Corps of Engineers had its headquarters here.
After the Civil War, prosperity returned to the island city. Before and after the turn of the century, the buildings in Hendley Row were home to banks, lawyers and other businesses.
In the 1970s, the two buildings on the west side of the row were fully restored. But, little by little the buildings on the east side fell into decay, and were left empty for nearly 15 years.
Fortunately, in early 2012, George Mitchell and the Mitchell family added the two east bays of Hendley Row to its Mitchell Historic Properties (MHP) portfolio. For many years, this portion of the building housed Demack & Co., a produce wholesaler that closed in 1999.
The stabilization and rehabilitation of the eastern half of the Hendley complex began almost immediately. The rehabilitation begun the revitalization of the surrounding edge of The Strand District. Construction work included extensive masonry and structural repair, restoration of historic windows, partial elevation of the ground level floors to ameliorate flooding issues and construction of a small egress stair addition at the rear.
In February 2017, the Hendley Building was recognized by Preservation Texas at its 2017 Honor Awards Ceremony and Reception in Waco, Texas. The recipients of this award are recognized for successful efforts to save irreplaceable and authentic endangered historic places in Texas.
Fittingly, the offices of the Galveston Historical Foundation, founded as the Galveston Historical Society in 1871, is now located in this building - so too is its popular gift shop, Eighteen Seventy One.
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2022
- Mar 17, 2022 Ivy Dishes
- Jan 29, 2022 Grace Episcopal Church
- Jan 1, 2022 100 Years
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2021
- Aug 25, 2021 My Fig Tree
- Apr 28, 2021 Darlene's Shrimp
- Apr 24, 2021 Oleander Festival
- Feb 27, 2021 Great Winter Storm
- Feb 10, 2021 The Mourning Wave
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2020
- Oct 26, 2020 Crepe Myrtles
- Sep 18, 2020 Trimming the Palms
- Jul 19, 2020 The Dancers
- Jul 11, 2020 Postcards
- Jun 20, 2020 Resilience Flag
- Jun 19, 2020 Juneteenth
- Jun 10, 2020 Silk Stocking
- May 27, 2020 Tree Sculptures
- May 6, 2020 Babe's Beach
- Apr 22, 2020 Opera House
- Mar 2, 2020 Texas Heroes Monument
- Feb 15, 2020 Mardi Gras Parade
- Jan 19, 2020 St. Joseph's Church
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2019
- Dec 15, 2019 Celebrations
- Nov 6, 2019 Fresh Paint
- Oct 21, 2019 Jazz Age Series
- Oct 20, 2019 ARToberFEST
- Oct 6, 2019 Stingeree
- Oct 5, 2019 Pumpkin Time
- Oct 2, 2019 Sea Turtles
- Sep 29, 2019 Powhatan House
- Sep 24, 2019 The Dolphins
- Sep 5, 2019 Lucas Apartments
- Aug 24, 2019 Sandcastles
- Aug 9, 2019 The Daily News
- Jul 18, 2019 Beach Walk
- Jul 10, 2019 La King's
- May 25, 2019 Pleasure Pier
- May 1, 2019 Bolivar Ferry
- Mar 15, 2019 Saengerfest Park
- Jan 19, 2019 Moody Mansion
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2018
- Dec 18, 2018 The Vintage Suitcase
- Dec 17, 2018 Festival of Lights
- Dec 2, 2018 Sunday Brunch
- Nov 21, 2018 Hendley Row
- Oct 27, 2018 Island Oktoberfest
- Sep 20, 2018 The Strand Clock
- Sep 16, 2018 St. Mary Cathedral
- Aug 11, 2018 No More Shed
- Jun 10, 2018 Rosenberg Library
- May 7, 2018 Stepping It Up
- May 3, 2018 A Happy Hour
- May 1, 2018 Ashton Villa
- Apr 21, 2018 96th Birthday
- Apr 1, 2018 Seawolf Park
- Mar 27, 2018 Ball High School
- Mar 15, 2018 East End
- Feb 1, 2018 Tremont House
- Jan 26, 2018 Menardi Gras
- Jan 24, 2018 Mardi Gras Decor
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2017
- Dec 1, 2017 Miss Ruby
- Oct 8, 2017 Railroad Museum
- Oct 7, 2017 Tall Ship Elissa
- Sep 9, 2017 Star Drug Store
- Sep 8, 2017 1900 Storm Statue
- Aug 6, 2017 The Turquoise Table
- Aug 1, 2017 Bishop's Palace
- Jul 23, 2017 Garten-Verein
- Jul 21, 2017 Yard Work
- Jul 16, 2017 The Strand
- Jun 17, 2017 Stewart Beach
- Jun 7, 2017 The Original
- Jun 3, 2017 Murdochs
- May 27, 2017 Bryan Museum
- May 19, 2017 Firemen on Call
- May 13, 2017 Williams-Borden Neighborhood
- May 1, 2017 Oleander City
- Apr 28, 2017 God Winks