The Strand
An Architectural Treasure Trove
With an influx of port vessel traffic off the Texas Gulf Coast and the establishment of numerous financial institutions, Galveston’s main business street was famously known as The Strand and dubbed the Wall Street of the Southwest. Since the early 19th century, Galveston has served as a diamond on the Texas coast and today, The Strand’s architecture, strewn with Victorian buildings, is one of the most extensive collections of historic buildings in the United States.
By the late 1830s, Galveston’s business district, then centered along Avenue B, was already becoming a draw. Many speculate that “The Strand” came about as a business owner using this name suggested it as an alternative and a more elegant sounding street name. While the earliest buildings here were typically wooden, they were extremely susceptible to both fires and hurricanes – both of which were common. However, as the city’s traffic surged – between 700 and 1400 ships called in to port annually – the economic impact was heightened. Downtown structures began being replaced with iron-fronted buildings.
Old Galveston Square may have historically been the most ideal location for early Galveston businesses. Retail and wholesale merchants operated here as early as 1839. Today it is composed of four historic, and one contemporary, structures. The oldest is the 1857 E.S. Wood Building, at the eastern end of the row, while the rest were completed in 1871. | Courtesy Tristan Smith
The Strand quickly became the nexus of the city. Significant businesses began locating here. It moved from being one single street however, to an entire five-block business district between 20th and 25th streets. Not only could one find a haberdashery, an opera house, dry goods, but also cotton agents, wholesalers, commission merchants, insurance companies, and slave auctioneers. While a few of these historic buildings in The Strand date back to the mid-1850s, a great majority of them date back to the 1870s and 1880s.
Lining The Strand, and throughout downtown Galveston, are displays of historic architecture of nearly every motif. Here, you will find Greek Revival, High Victorian, Neo-Renaissance, Gothic, French, Beaux arts, Romanesque, and Italianate. This lends to a stretch of buildings found no place else in the state, and quite possibly few other places in the United States. Common building materials used were brick, stucco, marble, granite, and cast iron.
Left “Hendley’s Block” is the oldest surviving commercial structure on the Strand. | Courtesy Library of Congress Right Seen throughout Galveston Island, and most prominently throughout the Strand District, these markers commemorate the centennial of the 1900 Storm. | Courtesy Tristan Smith
One of the most prominent and premier architects of that time, for Galveston, and throughout Texas, was Nicholas Clayton. Born in Ireland and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, he began his architecture career following the Civil War. During a business trip from Tennessee to Galveston to oversee the construction of the original Tremont Hotel and the First Presbyterian Church, Clayton opted to remain on the island. In 1875, Clayton opened his own firm and created a built landscape like no other. While many of his buildings have come down, multiple treasures of his remain throughout the island and along The Strand, including Hendley Row, the Hutchings, Sealy & Company Building, and the Old Daily News Building.
Galveston thrived after the Civil War, the port becoming one of the busiest in the country. In the late 1800s, most of the goods and people coming to Texas through Galveston, helped Galveston grow even more. However, this prowess was usurped by the 1900 Hurricane, which destroyed the city and killed more than 6,000 people. Despite a resurgence in the mid-20th century, the Strand itself was slowly deteriorating; historic buildings were being demolished for newer ones or empty lots for parking throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Luckily, many more historic architecture treasures remained. Community leaders united to preserve The Strand, and the rest of Galveston’s historic districts and architecture. The Strand was listed on the National Historic Landmark in 1976. Its listing was due partly to its role as the state’s major 19th century port, but also due to an unparalleled collection of commercial Victorian architecture in Texas. All can be seen by traveling the streets of The Strand, and many of them are still open as retail, food and drink establishments, hotels, and more.
