Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2009 > May > 25 > Entry
Galveston as the next Marfa?
Austinites flock to Galveston like weekend gulls.
They meet at the Sunflower Bakery for crabcakes and pastries, or Star Drug Store for cheeseburgers and tomato soup.
They socialize with Islanders on porches and patios in the easy, unhurried manner of the ancient coastal cultures of New Orleans, Key West or Charleston, S.C., rocked by Gulf breezes and lubricated with tropical concoctions.
They attempt to spur the creative economy by ignoring those shiny objects — Moody Gardens, beachfront condos — that attract other tourists, and instead shop for hours on the Strand, organize home tours and festivals, attend the Island’s theaters and concert halls.
They volunteer to help solve Galveston’s gargantuan civic ills — collapsed infrastructure, depopulated neighborhoods, emigrated service industries.
They can’t get enough of it.
Could Galveston become the next Marfa, the next Santa Fe, the next San Miguel de Allende? The place where indigent artists mix with solitude-seeking socialites in a way that invents a whole new lifestyle while replicating Austin’s openness and sentience?
The main obstacle, other than the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ike, is the uneven physical connections. Galveston was conceived as a dense city, but its natural disasters and economic sclerosis have left an urban patchwork on the East End, the West End, all around the town.
It’s tempting, as an Inlander, to shrug and say “Let the next storm take it.” After all, there will be another storm. We know that. And if the surge doesn’t top the 17-foot seawall, it will whip around the bay to send a 14-foot wave of salty muck through the city’s unprotected north side, as Ike did.
Spend some time, even just a long holiday weekend, however, away from the beaches and the “family attractions,” and it’s hard to resist the Island’s allure. And, as always, if there’s a place worth the investment of time and passion, Austinites will congregate there.
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Comments
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By Nina
October 16, 2009 3:56 PM | Link to this
Galveston is definitely a jewel within the state of Texas. There is a lot of new "hip" development on the beach such as Beachtown and Pointe West, but I really hope the older areas that need TLC won't be ignored. Let's step up and get those areas renovated. The Florida coast has a much higher probability of being struck by major hurricanes than the Texas coast, but look at all that development in Miami recently! Don't let that scare you off. The seawall really helps. Thanks for writing all of these great articles on Galveston.
By Christine Hopkins
June 1, 2009 1:47 PM | Link to this
It's a great time to visit. The Tremont House reopened June 1 and is offering weekday rate from $119/night and weekend rate from $185/night. Support Galveston as we recover.
By Valerie Koehler
May 26, 2009 10:25 PM | Link to this
Just don't forget that your roots are in Surfside. And don't let anyone know where it is.
By Molly Alexander
May 26, 2009 4:45 PM | Link to this
Michael
I think you are right on about Galveston. My partner and I just purchased a home on the island and I am amazed to see how many interesting Austinites and others are investing on the island. While it may not be Marfa or Santa Fe, it is this cool, affordable place that has great potential.
By Michael Barnes
May 25, 2009 6:58 PM | Link to this
Eugene is right that Galveston is quite different from Marfa. But it is amazingly isolated, for being only an hour from Houston. Once you cross the bridge, the rest of the world goes away. And the social horizon shrinks to the size of a small town. All this away from the beach and amusement park crowds, of course.
By Eugene
May 25, 2009 1:48 PM | Link to this
Not sure "the next Marfa" should be the mark. Nor do I think it's doable. Part of Marfa's charm is its isolation. You really have to want and plan to go there given its distance from everywhere else. Nevertheless, I agree Galveston has much charm. We've never done the genteel tour, sounds very Garden district.