Festival of Lights

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My children and grandkids were in town this past weekend, and we exhausted ourselves checking out many of Galveston’s annual holiday events. And, as you might assume, Moody Gardens’ Festival of Lights was at the top of our list of must-do activities.

The Festival of Lights takes visitors around the Moody Gardens property and by the shores of Galveston Bay on a one-mile trail. The pathway features festive holiday scenes at each and every turn - all brilliantly illuminated with more than one million lights and accented by the delightful sounds of holiday music.

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The Festival of Lights also features Galveston’s only outdoor ice skating rink, food and drink vendors , and live music on multiple stages.

The weather on the night we went to see the lights was perfect. Skies were clear, and the temps were only slightly chilly. Like many others, we donned our “ugly” Christmas sweaters and left the winter coats, hats and gloves at home!

Sunday Brunch

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December - my favorite month of the year - has gotten off to a great start. Yesterday, I enjoyed the annual festivities of Dickens on The Strand and, today, I celebrated my approaching birthday with my island girlfriends, “The Mermaids.” and by treating ourselves to Sunday Brunch at the historic Hotel Galvez on The Seawall.

Sunday Brunch at this beautiful Wyndham hotel is a longstanding island tradition. It is the place to go to celebrate special occasions. The unmatched beauty and ambiance of the hotel’s dining rooms combined with the offerings on its buffet, make this Sunday Brunch a must-do for just about everybody - including my friends and me!

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For starters, the buffet features an array of fresh fruit, cheeses, breads and pastries, as well as eggs Benedict, made-to-order omelets and a waffle station. (Always, I opt for the custom omelet.)

As you might expect at a luxury hotel in Galveston, there is always an extensive seafood station, offering smoked salmon, cocktail shrimp, crab claws and oysters. One of the hotel’s iconic ice sculptures always takes centerstage here.

For the pasta lovers, and I think that’s just about everybody, there is a pasta station too. It features a variety of red and Alfredo sauces and the popular add-ons: veggies, shrimp and chicken.

The hotel’s carving station offers prime rib every week but also offers either bourbon glazed ham, rack of lamb or turkey, depending on the season.

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Another popular item on the brunch menu is the hotel’s award-winning seafood gumbo. (Few come for Sunday Brunch without opting for at least a small cup of the gumbo. You might say, the gumbo here is must-have!)

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To complete the meal in the sweetest way,, there is a dessert buffet with an ice cream station and a wide selection of other favorites, including bread pudding, pecan pie, cheesecake, lemon bars, cobblers and cookies - and so much more!

And, if that were not enough, Sunday Brunch comes with bottomless glasses of champagne and mimosas throughout the dining experience. That made lifting our glasses to toast my birthday, our friendship and another great time in Galveston so very festive and fun!

About the Hotel Galvez
Hotel Galvez, built in 11911, is the only historic beachfront hotel on the Texas Gulf Coast. The hotel was named the Galvez, honoring Bernardo de Gálvez, 1st Viscount of Galveston, for whom the city was named. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 1979. To learn more, visit www.HotelGalvez.com/.

Hendley Row

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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.

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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.

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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.

Island Oktoberfest

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This morning, I drove over to the First Lutheran Church of Galveston to attend the 37th Annual Galveston Island Oktoberfest. Though this event is considered the premier fall festival on the island, I had never been to it and, to be honest I didn’t know much about it.

Fortunately, a few days ago, a good friend enlightened me. She told me all about the big event and added, “You must go; you’ll love it!”

This friend, a BOI (Born On Island), knows exactly what’s what in Galveston as well as anyone I know.

So, I took her advice; put on the closest thing I had to German garb, and headed out.- expecting to have a fun and festive afternoon. And, I did!

Approaching the entrance to Oktoberfest, I heard the brassy sounds of German folk music and was greeted by a cadre of festival faithfuls, all were dressed as if they had just flown in from Bavaria. The men wore brown lirederhosen, with shoulder straps, buttons embellishing the front and tan trimmings. Underneath, they all had on off-white shirts with lace up collars, matching brown and tan hats and, of course, white knee socks.

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The women strolling about wore Alpine Dirndl (blue, green or black ones mostly) with edelweiss, enzian and almrausch floral embroidery. On top, all wore neat and tidy embroidered white aprons. Many - no matter their age - wore their hair in pretty braids.

Needless to say, the authentic German music and the costumes set the stage perfectly, and I eagerly moved forward, eager to participate in these annual festivities.

Inside the gates, on the grounds of the church, a couple of hundred others had already assembled - all were either manning or patronizing dozens of booths featuring German food and beverages, as well as several play stations for kids. Like everyone else, I strolled around to see everything, stopped often to say “hi” to friends I bumped into and enjoy, like them, a sampling of the tasty bites, including Bratwurst, a personal favorite.

After an hour or so, I started looking for the arts and crafts booth. I soon discovered the artisans had set up their pop-up shops inside the Lyceum Chapel, an elegant, mid-19th century Victorian structure situated right next the church. Walking into The Lyceum, I was taken aback by the beauty of the building and by the fact that I wasn’t even aware of its existence!

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Soon, I learned from another BOI that The Lyceum underwent extensive renovation and restoration about a decade ago, with work completed in the summer of 2009, Now, The Lyceum is one of the Island’s premier venue for weddings, receptions, meetings and other special events.





The Strand Clock

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Recently, I was shopping downtown and, for the first time, took note of a very tall, Victorian-era clock standing at the southeast corner of Strand and 22nd streets, in front of the First National Bank Building.

“Wow,” I thought. “How long has that clock been there? Where did it come from? Who put it up?”

So, naturally, when I returned to The Bungalow, I got online and did some research.

I learned the clock is 17-feet tall, and the timepiece measures four feet in diameter and sits atop the fluted metal stand. As I noticed, the base, stand and frame are all painted green.

I learned too that the clock dates to roughly 1900, a significant date in the history of Galveston.

As the story goes, John and Gerald Sullivan located the clock in a San Antonio warehouse in 1989 and hired Bill Young of Dallas to restore it. Later, the Sullivans donated the operational clock to the Galveston Historical Foundation for permanent display at its present location.

There is a plaque at the base of the clock that reads: Dedicated to the Galveston Historical Foundation and the Citizens of Galveston by the families of John L. and Cynthia L. Sullivan and Gerald A. and Susanne H. Sullivan. December 19, 1989

I liked seeing the clock, and I liked too learning about its history. No doubt, I will now notice it every time I walk down The Strand. And, I will look up at its face - with pride and much appreciation for those who brought it here.