Going Back to Galveston

Going Back to Galveston

Author: M. Jimmie Killingsworth

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 1603442944

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In this witty, thoughtful, and clear-eyed look at a place that has engaged the imaginations and energies of generations of Galvestonians, Texans, and others, writer M. Jimmie Killingsworth and photographer Geoff Winningham reflect on the various Galvestons—virtual and real, natural and artificial—that compete and overlap to create a location, a destination, and the defining experiences associated with “going to Galveston.” From the tepid, still waters and steamy beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast to the computerized, air-conditioned seductions of places like Moody Gardens and the Rainforest Café, Galveston offers a wide array of opportunities for observation of the frequently ironic interplay of human and natural history. Killingsworth’s affectionate, wry prose and Winningham’s distinctive, surprising images offer a unique tribute to Galveston’s past, present, and future: a barrier island that once hosted native peoples, shipwrecked Spaniards, and buccaneers; a birding hotspot that draws nature watchers from all over the world to its estuarine and bay habitats; a hurricane-buffeted city built for tourism, with a storied—sometimes shady—nightlife, a restored historic downtown district, and a trucked-in beach. Going Back to Galveston is a deeply personal meditation on why and how people relate to the places they love. With Killingsworth and Winningham as your guides, explore the multisensory realities: bays and beaches, birding and fishing; grand hotels and Victorian mansions alongside tumbledown docks and sleazy bars; glitzy, modern palaces of recreation and posh eateries competing with fast-food joints and vendors of tourist trinkets. Going Back to Galveston is an excursion you can carry in your hand—one you’ll want to take again and again.


The Uncertain Season

The Uncertain Season

Author: Ann Howard Creel

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781477809044

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When her lovely, charming, and disgraced cousin Etta arrives, Grace finds her place in society, and in her mother's heart, threatened. In a reckless moment, Grace reveals Etta's scandalous past, and as punishment, she's sent to work in Galveston's back alleys, helping the poor. There, a silent waif known only as Miss Girl opens Grace's eyes to new love and purpose. She's determined to save this girl who lost her entire family in the hurricane and now slips along the shadows of the unfinished seawall with a mysterious resolve.


Galveston

Galveston

Author: David G. McComb

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 0292793219

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A colorful history of the island city on Texas’s Gulf Coast and its survival through times of piracy, plague, civil war, and devastating natural disaster. On the Gulf edge of Texas between land and sea stands Galveston Island. Shaped continually by wind and water, it is one of earth’s ongoing creations, where time is forever new. Here, on the shoreline, embraced by the waves, a person can still feel the heartbeat of nature. And yet, for all the idyllic possibilities, Galveston’s history has been anything but tranquil. Across Galveston’s sands have walked Indians, pirates, revolutionaries, the richest men of nineteenth-century Texas, soldiers, sailors, bootleggers, gamblers, prostitutes, physicians, entertainers, engineers, and preservationists. Major events in the island’s past include hurricanes, yellow fever, smuggling, vice, the Civil War, the building of a medical school and port, raids by the Texas Rangers, and, always, the struggle to live in a precarious location. Galveston: A History is an engrossing account that also explores the role of technology and the often contradictory relationship between technology and the city, providing a guide to both Galveston history and the dynamics of urban development.


The Alleys and Back Buildings of Galveston

The Alleys and Back Buildings of Galveston

Author: Ellen Beasley

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 9781585445820

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Alleys and back buildings have been largely overlooked in studies of the American urban environment. And yet, rental alley houses, servant and slave quarters, carriage houses, stables, and other secondary structures have lined the alleys and filled the backyards of Galveston since its early days as a growing port city on the upper Texas Gulf Coast. Like their counterparts in other cities, these buildings and their inhabitants have had a profound visual, physical, and social impact on the history and development of Galveston. Interweaving written documents, oral interviews, and pictorial images, Beasley presents a vivid picture of Galveston’s alleys and alley life from the founding of the city into the twentieth century. The book blends a unique combination of research, photography, and the voices of those who have lived and live along the alleys. Beasley has uncovered and analyzed a wealth of new information not only about the back buildings of Galveston but also about their occupants and the complex cultural forces at work in their lives.


Galveston

Galveston

Author: Jodi Wright-Gidley

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780738558806

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On September 8, 1900, a devastating hurricane destroyed most of the island city of Galveston, along with the lives of more than 6,000 men, women, and children. Today that hurricane remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Despite this tragedy, many Galvestonians were determined to rebuild their city. An ambitious plan was developed to construct a wall against the sea, link the island to the mainland with a reliable concrete bridge, and raise the level of the city. While the grade was raised beneath them, houses were perched on stilts and residents made their way through town on elevated boardwalks. Galveston became a "city on stilts." While Galvestonians worked to rebuild the infrastructure of their city, they also continued conducting business and participating in recreational activities. Zeva B. Edworthy's photographs document the rebuilding of the port city and life around Galveston in the early 1900s.


100 Things to Do in Galveston Before You Die

100 Things to Do in Galveston Before You Die

Author: Christine Hopkins

Publisher: Reedy Press LLC

Published: 2020-06-25

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1681062445

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For more than a hundred years, Galveston has lured visitors with the therapeutic effects of her warm Gulf waters. Today, Galveston is much more than just a beach, and with so many appealing year-round attractions, it's hard to know where to begin your adventure. With 100 Things to Do in Galveston Before You Die as your guide, you won't miss any of the history, art, festivals, and dining that bring visitors in droves and keep locals happy. Step inside Bishop's Palace, considered one of the best examples of Victorian architecture in the United States. Visit Katie's Seafood for a fresh Gulf catch or Gaido's Seafood Restaurant, but make sure to save room for its amazing Pecan Crunch Pie. Nurture your love for history and the arts by catching a show at The Grand 1894 Opera House. Take the kids to Moody Gardens to meet a penguin. And no visit to Galveston would be complete without getting some sand between your toes at Texas' most popular beach. Local co-authors Christine Ruiz Hopkins and Heidi Lutz bring their expert insiders' perspectives to this jam-packed guide full of hidden gems and top picks. You'll get the most from an island stay in Galveston by checking their carefully curated suggestions off your list.


Last Dance on the Starlight Pier

Last Dance on the Starlight Pier

Author: Sarah Bird

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2022-04-12

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 125026555X

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Set during the Great Depression, Sarah Bird's Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a novel about one woman—and a nation—struggling to be reborn from the ashes. July 3. 1932. Shivering and in shock, Evie Grace Devlin watches the Starlite Palace burn into the sea and wonders how she became a person who would cause a man to kill himself. She’d come to Galveston to escape a dark past in vaudeville and become a good person, a nurse. When that dream is cruelly thwarted, Evie is swept into the alien world of dance marathons. All that she has been denied—a family, a purpose, even love—waits for her there in the place she dreads most: the spotlight. Last Dance on the Starlight Pier is a sweeping novel that brings to spectacular life the enthralling worlds of both dance marathons and the family-run empire of vice that was Galveston in the Thirties. Unforgettable characters tell a story that is still deeply resonant today as America learns what Evie learns, that there truly isn’t anything this country can’t do when we do it together. That indomitable spirit powers a story that is a testament to the deep well of resilience in us all that allows us to not only survive the hardest of hard times, but to find joy, friends, and even family, in them.


Galveston

Galveston

Author: Nic Pizzolatto

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-06-14

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1439166668

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After being diagnosed with lung cancer, Roy Cady kills the men hired by his loan shark boss to kill him, and flees to Galveston, Texas, with a prostitute and her young sister, where they face more problems.


Galveston's Summer of the Storm

Galveston's Summer of the Storm

Author: Julie Anne Lake

Publisher: TCU Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 9780875652726

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When fourteen-year-old Abby Kate boards the train in Austin to spend three weeks with her grandmother in Galveston, she's full of excitement--about the train ride and the prospect of days on the beach, exploring Galveston with her cousin Jane, family picnics, and her grandmother's good food. But things go wrong even before she gets to her grandmother's house. Abby Kate gets off the train briefly in Houston--and the train leaves without her. Stranded in the railroad station, she is befriended by a man traveling with his two sons and eventually reaches Galveston safely. Then word comes that Abby Kate's young brother, Will, has diphtheria, and she will have to stay in Galveston indefinitely. Abby Kate is still in Galveston on September 8 when a massive hurricane strikes the city. At first the prospect of a storm is exciting. But as Abby Kate takes an ill-advised trip to watch the waves crash on the beach, the storm turns into a terrifying monster. Unable to make it back to Grandmother Linden's house, Abby Kate, her older cousin Ellen, and Ellen's friend Ian take refuge in the home of one of Ian's teachers. When the house falls apart, Abby Kate is on her own, clinging to a plank in swirling waters with the wind howling around her head. With vivid descriptions, Julie Lake plunges the reader into the storm right along with Abby Kate. The Galveston hurricane of September 8, 1900, remains the worst national disaster to hit the United States. And Abby Kate? She's spunky, mischievous, kind and caring, courageous when she has to be, and absolutely irresistible!


The Game Was Good to Me

The Game Was Good to Me

Author: John Crawley

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2000-12-20

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1588206831

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Yes, The Game Was Good To Me, until I discovered the Holy Spirit and Salvation, becoming a Born Again Christian. For many of my adult years, I lived a life of wrong doings, transgressions, and sin. My earliest recollections were as an earth bound child dragging a heavy gunnysack through fields of cotton and corn towering over my head. I was a sharecropper's son, barefooted and destined to toil for the rest of my life in a no-win, hard rock situation. My family and I were indentured slaves to a harsh southern system! From these humble beginnings, I started a fantastic journey through self-discipline and soul survivorship, step-by-step, through the nightmarish world of "file de joie" and many devious adventures. I became very successful and lived in a post enclave on the famed Sutton Place, New York City. I flew high, rubbing shoulders with "fast players," movers, and city-slick shakers! I covered many major cities as my fortunes ebbed and flowed, but always came up smelling like a rose! How sweet it was! In The Game Was Good to Me I do not use the real names of my friends, associates, and acquaintances unless I have their full approval; otherwise, substitute names are used to protect their privacy. I sincerely feel that my greedy story will be a warning to young men who may attempt to walk the same dangerous paths that I once followed.