Galveston

I went to the visitors center in Galveston this morning and got recommendations-and maps-for two tours in the historic district...Victorian homes, and tree trunks turned into wood sculptures in the same neighborhood.  This worked well.  This Great Dane is named Hunter, and he's the pet of the owners of the fine Victorian in the background.

A fine Victorian, built in 1882 for one of the town's prominent doctors.  Blow the pics up for better detail...at this scale there are distortions in some of the pictures.  I haven't a clue as to why.

Had to shoot this one...tree trunk morphed into a guitar.  While most of the sculptures were done by master carvers, the homeowner did this one.

This home is named Maison des Fleurs...house of the flowers.  It was built in 1894 and thus survived the 1900 hurricane, as did most of the other homes in this post.  They are on the bay side of town, a mile or so from the open gulf.

Toad stylin'.  Looks like she's been to Mardi Gras!

Another fine home.  Tons of fancy woodwork.

After the 1900 hurricane, most of the city was raised about ten feet with dredged sand, and a 17 foot seawall was constructed.  Several storms have hit Galveston since, and damage and especially casualties have been much less...the 1900 storm killed about 8000 people, the greatest natural disaster in US history.  Still, storm surges cause damage.  This plaque is on a house about 6 blocks from the bay, a mile from the open gulf.  It's 9 1/2 steps up from the street, and only 1 1/2 steps from the front porch.

Toto and the Tin Man were carved in the yard of this house because King Vidor, one of the directors of the original 1930s movie The Wizard of Oz, was born in the house in the background.

Old Victorians merge with modern architecture.

Nestled among the Victorian mansions are these two shotgun houses.  Don't know if they survived the 1900 hurricane...many such dwellings were obliterated in New Orleans by hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A yellow lab.

This sculpture incorporates quite a bit of an old oak tree to depict many birds native to the Galveston area.

Bishops Palace, built circa 1890.  This home is open for tours.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church.  While the stone Bishops Palace survived the great hurricane of 1900, the original church across the street was trashed.  This replacement was built in 1903, incorporating a wide variety of styles.  Moorish and Gothic predominate.

A stately downtown building dating from 1878.

The Strand.  This is the main street of downtown Galveston.  Once a haven for bankers and businessmen, it's full of touron shops today.

Polar bears in Galveston?? You betcha!

Stormy seas at the Galveston Pleasure Pier.  It survived Ike in 2008 but you have to figure a Sandy-type storm might leave the roller coaster out to sea, as happened to one in New Jersey.