DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker at Hotel Galvez tells it — and it's a story worth the telling. After the hurricane of 1900 tore through Galveston, the city had a decision to make. You rebuild, or you don't.
The local businessmen and public subscribers of Galveston chose to rebuild — and they put their money where their conviction was, to the tune of one million dollars, pooled together to finance a hotel that would help lift the economy back up off its knees. That hotel was completed in 1911, and what a thing it was. The St.
Louis firm of Mauran and Russell designed it in the Spanish Colonial revival style — red tile roof, white stuccoed brick walls — the kind of building that makes you stop your car and just look at it a moment before you do anything else. Now, the hotel and the city itself share their name, and they share it in honor of a man named Count Bernardo de Galvez, born in 1746, died in 1786. He served as Spanish Governor of Louisiana and rose to become Viceroy of Mexico.
That name — Galvez — runs through this place like a thread through the whole fabric of the Gulf Coast. One hurricane, one million dollars, one grand hotel standing in Spanish Colonial revival on the Galveston shore. Some decisions, they have a way of outlasting the storms that made them necessary.
What the marker says
Built at a cost of $1,000,000, this hotel was financed by local businessmen and public subscribers to help the economy of Galveston following the 1900 hurricane. Completed in 1911, it was designed by the St. Louis firm of Mauran and Russell. The Spanish Colonial revival styling included a red tile roof and white stuccoed brick walls. The hotel and city are named in honor of Count Bernado de Galvez (1746-86), Spanish Governor of Louisiana and Viceroy of Mexico. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980